Makai Adventures
by Dr.Billie
Summary: Edge City's defender, the Blazing Knight Tyrant, protects it from Horrors and keep at evil at bay. But something is coming, and changes are happening. His new Watchdogs are assembling a team because something is coming. Meanwhile, his girlfriend is going through something connected to his sealing Horrors. Can Ty and his friends overcome the challenges coming their way?
1. 01: The Blazing Knight

There is another world that most people knew nothing about that exists within ours. There are dangers lurking in the shadows. Fear of the dark is an ancient fear. Scientists and scholarly intellects tell us that this fear is irrational. We tell ourselves that this fear is irrational. And yet, we continue to surround ourselves with light. We don't go down that shadowy path. We stick to the illuminated walkways. We take flashlights into the dark basement. Why do we do this?

Because it is not irrational to fear the dark. This fear exists for a reason. There are things lurking in the dark, waiting for their opportunity to come into our world and devour us.

That wasn't hyperbole. They do want to devour us.

They are called Horrors.

Lainie Hong was a typical high school student. Well, maybe not that typical. She didn't have parents. She'd been a ward of the state for as long as she could remember. Rather than living with a foster family, she was shuffled around various boarding schools. A law firm was the custodian of an estate left to her when her parents died. Even though she'd turned eighteen, she couldn't legally claim her estate until she was twenty-one. She'd been shuffled again for her senior year.

So, here she was in Edge City, attending its most prestigious school, Greystone Armitage Redford Oxnard Academy. It seemed to have been named for its founders way back in the 1800s. Though she was a boarding student, it wasn't exclusively a boarding school. Less than half the students were boarders. Most of them were from prestigious families in the city.

Lainie was a bright girl with a friendly demeanor. She'd made a few friends quickly, but she always seemed to hold herself back. She never when she was going to be shuffled again, so she rarely ever got close to people.

Still, she found herself with a group of girls out past curfew, visiting a dance club where skeevy guys enjoyed hitting on the group of half-dressed, barely legal teenage girls and plying them with alcohol. If she'd known, she probably wouldn't have gone. It was so not her scene.

As she sipped at a soda, she looked around and realized that a couple of the girls had disappeared. Others were hanging out with aforementioned skeevy guys or "dancing" with them. The word dancing was used loosely as it was mostly just gyrating against each other vaguely in rhythm with the house music. The music was probably the most enjoyable thing about being there. She smiled slightly as she nodded her head in tune.

Something caught her eye. It was a flash of red near the entrance. She craned her neck trying to determine what she'd seen. She surveyed the crowd. She blinked when the lights began strobing. More flashes of red as someone or something moved through the crowd. She was so intent on tracking the red flashes that she froze when someone touched her hip.

"Hey, honey. Looking for some company?" a male voice drawled drunkenly at her ear.

She sucked in a deep breath. "No. Please remove your hand," she said and offered her admirer a polite smile.

Seeming to take her polite refusal as a coy invitation, he slid his hand lower. "C'mon, honey, don't be like that," he said.

Lainie exhaled now. She moved away from the hand at the same time, wrapped her hand around one of his fingers and twisted both it and her body sharply, bending it in a way that was beyond natural. He cried out and went to his knees. "You bitch! Let me go!"

She held him a position in which it was difficult for him to move without inflicting further pain on himself. "You should keep an eye on that wandering hand," she said and released him. He cradled his hand and heaped even more insults on her while making sure that no one had witnessed him getting owned by a girl.

Lainie ignored him. She frowned a couple of her friends on the dance floor and joined them for a dance, forgetting all about the red flashes.

Awhile later, she and the group of girls were heading back to school. "Where did you disappear to earlier, Bi?" one of the girls asked another, all the girls giggled, waiting for details.

"That one guy I was dancing with earlier was too cute. I couldn't help myself," the girl in question said.

"So, what? You blow him in the bathroom, or something?"

"Or something."

This statement earned a round of laughter and good-natured ribbing. Lainie was barely paying attention. She'd even fallen back a bit from the group. When she stopped all together, someone finally noticed her.

"What's up?" someone asked her.

"Maybe we should go another way," Lainie suggested. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the well-lit street they were walking on. It was a shortcut through the city park. All streetlamps were well maintained, there was usually a guard patrolling regularly. It was a low crime area. There should have been no problem with them walking through there. She was getting the funniest looks.

"What's wrong? Tales of the Campus Cannibal getting to you?" the girls laughed. Someone linked her arm around Lainie's and they started walking again.

"The what?" Lainie asked.

"O.M.G. You haven't heard about it? They say that every seven years or so, seven virgins, guys and girls, get eaten from our school," Bi, who did something in the bathroom with a cute guy at the club, explained as she walked backwards ahead of the group. "This year is the seventh year since the last time it feasted," she said ominously.

"Well, lucky for you, you don't have to worry about a virgin eating cannibal," another girl teased her. The girls laughed.

"Bi-" Lainie gasped when the shadows around the path lengthened, darkened, and suddenly Bi was crumpled and sucked into the darkness as if she'd been vacuumed. The girls screamed, but under the screamed a slurping sound could be heard.

The shadow took human shape of a man in a sharp suit. "Virgins may be a treat to some, but sluts are more to my taste," he declared. He licked his lips with a lizard-like tongue. "Who's next?" he asked.

Square pieces of red paper with an arcane symbol stuck to the girls' foreheads and they crumpled against each other. A ball of crimson fire was flung at the man in the suit and hovered in front of his face. His eyes turned white while black shadows coalesced within them. He snarled and hissed, looking for the culprit who was interfering with his meal. "I don't usually eat men, but I'll make an exception!" He snarled and jumped over the group of girls.

Lainie couldn't see anything, but unlike the other girls, she hadn't been rendered completely unconscious. She heard behind her sounds of a fight. The metallic clanging of a sword, a man's grunts, a monster's snarls.

"Makai Knight?" said the inhuman voice of the man in a sharp suit as he was knocked back into her field of vision. He snarled and began to change shape into a black figure resembling a gargoyle with horns, lopsided wings, and a spaded tail. It was a truly horrible sight.

"It appears to be a low-level Horror," a voice said with a clicky sort of metallic sound underneath it.

"Mm," came a low response. The singing swish of a sword could be heard, and a bright reddish-light illuminated the area. The creature jumped forward, but he was knocked backwards by a man in a suit of gold and crimson armor. It seemed to glow with an inner power. What was most striking about it was the headpiece was wolf-like. Mostly crimson it had tall ears, a snarling snout and golden fangs. Fierce eyes glowed emerald green.

The creature was tougher than it appeared. Despite the man in armor being armed with a long, elegant, double edged sword, he couldn't seem to get the upper hand over his opponent. The creature whipped around and knocked the sword out of the knight's hand before kicking a devastating blow to his chest that sent him tumbling back.

"Low level?" he asked dryly, his voice somehow distorted by the armor. He gasped when suddenly the creature began to change shape again. He had to brace himself a sudden expulsion of dark energy.

Changing into a bloated caricature of a Victorian era man in a top hat and tailcoat with knives for fingers and a razor-teeth filled mouth, the Horror laughed.

"Ripper! He was hiding his energy!" the clicky voice declared. "Be careful. You don't have much time left!"

Lainie had been steadily moving toward the sword which landed near her. When she tried to move it, it was like trying to move a ton of bricks, but this armored man needed his sword. With almost the last of her energy, she managed to push the blade across the ground toward him just as he was knocked through the air. He landed on his feet just as the blade slid across the ground.

When the blade hit the knight's foot, he scooped it up with his toe and grabbed hold of it with one hand. The other hand produced a lighter that lit it up with crimson flames. He jumped through the air, the sword leaving a brilliant arc of fire as he slashed through the creature.

It gave a nerve fraying screech as it exploded into dark nothingness. A bright red circle appeared above the knight's head and sucked his armor into it before disappearing.

The last thing Lainie saw was a man in a long red great-coat. Her eyes finally closed as he began walking away, the coat flowing majestically behind him.

Days passed and Lainie had no idea what was going on. The group of girls she'd been out with woke up as if nothing had happened, forgetting that Bi had been with them. Lainie was the only one who remembered. The next day, it was said that Bi transferred schools suddenly. They hadn't even gotten in trouble for sneaking back into the dorms way past curfew, some of them noticeably intoxicated. It was if that night had never happened.

Except it had, and Lainie remembered everything. She remembered that a young girl had lost her life. Devoured by a monster called Ripper. It'd been defeated by a man in a long red coat who seemed to be able to mysteriously summon a set of a wolf-like armor. Maybe it would have been better if she had forgotten.

But she couldn't forget and she couldn't find the man in the red coat even though she went out into the city whenever she had the chance. During the day, anyway. She wasn't quite brave enough to venture out at night anymore. She was quickly becoming a social pariah, and a nag when she tried to suggest that perhaps others shouldn't either.

So far, nothing bad had happened again. She was sure she would know if it did. She tried to put it out of her mind as she walked from her dorm toward the school cafeteria to have breakfast. There was no reason to worry about things that hadn't happened yet. No reason at all.

Right?

There was someone watching the students scurrying around school from high on a hill overlooking the campus. A young man in a long red great coat stood under a tree with arms crossed over his chest. He was tall and lanky but his chest and shoulders were wide.

"Thinking of what could have been?" the clicky voice came from his hand where he wore a blackened silver ring of a dragon's skull with fierce ruby eyes. The clicking sound came from its lower jaw when it moved.

He raised his hand and looked at the Mystic Ring. "I went to school before I began training," he pointed out. "You wouldn't make a contract with me so Grandpa kept you in a box at the time," he reminded the ring.

The Ring seemed to make an irritated face. "I was not kept in a box. I was a very capable advisor to Priest Hiro," he declared proudly.

"Right," came the dry reply.

"Stop arguing with Shiba," a feminine voice said behind him. A tall blue-eyed, blond girl with silver glasses and long pigtails approached. She wore a pair of tall boots, a ruffled white shirt with a silvery waistcoat under a lush midnight blue frock coat. A pair of shorts were topped in a wide belt and a long elegant calligraphy brush hung from it. "We have work to do," she stated.

"You found out something?" he asked her, ignoring the ring now.

"The virgin eating cannibal legend has some merit. Going back at least twenty years, seven students do disappear from the campus every seven years. I cannot definitively say it's a Horror. But the fact that it keeps happening and only whispers about it are heard leads me to believe something is going on," she held out a red envelope. "Orders from the Watchdogs," she said.

He took the envelope and pulled an elegant lighter from his pocket and flicked it. Crimson flames engulfed the envelope. Arcane letters glowed in the air, spelling out his next instructions. "Looks like we're going to high school," he declared.

"My joy has no limits," she said crankily.

"Mine either," Shiba declared just as crankily.

A smile touched his face. "Let's go," he said. He turned, his coat billowing behind him as he began walking away. Still grimacing, she followed along behind him.

After breakfast, the first bell rang signaling it was time to get ready for the first class of the day. Lainie made her way to her locker. The hallway was loud and kids were jostling each other, generally just being loud obnoxious teenagers. It was good and she found herself smiling slightly.

She made her way to her homeroom class and took a seat at her desk. It was an elective science class and had mixture of juniors and seniors. She was familiar with everyone in the class. But something was off that day. Sitting where Bi used to sit was a blonde girl. She was playing on a tablet and generally ignoring everyone.

"What's up with that face?" a girl who sat in front of Lainie asked. Meaghan had become a quick friend when Lainie transferred in.

"Who's that girl? Did we get a new student?" she asked.

Meaghan looked puzzled. "You mean Willa? No. She's just anti-social," she said with a laugh and sat down.

Lainie frowned and sat down as well. She was certain there had never been a "Willa" in the class before.

As if sensing the scrutiny, the blonde girl glanced at Lainie through her silver framed glasses. Then as if dismissing her entirely, went back to playing on her tablet.

The bell rang again and everyone hurried to their seats. The homeroom teacher came in with a boy behind her. He towered over the petite woman. He was tall and lanky with a wider chest and shoulders. The navy blazer and tan pants of the uniform were neat as pin and expertly tailored to fit him. He had dark hair that was neat and styled. His ears stuck out a bit but it wasn't unattractive. His skin was dusky as if he spent a lot of time outdoors and there was an olive undertone. His face was not half bad either. He had green eyes but there was something about it him that suggested an East-Asian influence.

"Class, we have a new student joining us today. This is Tynan McKay," Mrs. Suffolk introduced. Red tinted his ears and he looked around awkwardly and cleared his throat. "Tynan, you can sit at the desk next to Lainie," the teacher said kindly.

He gave her a slight nod and walked to the desk and slid into it, unslinging a backpack from his shoulder and pulling out a notebook and several other supplies along with the correct text book for the class. He stilled in his movements and glanced at Lainie. She blinked, turned red and quickly began to dig in her bag as if she hadn't been staring at him this whole time.

Finally coming up with a highlighter, and wincing at the fact that's all she could muster, she sat back up, and brushed her long dark hair back over her shoulder and waited for the teacher to call her name for roll-call. She'd forgotten all about the strange girl in the back of the class, but Mrs. Suffolk called out "Willa Daniels," as if she'd been doing for weeks, and the girl answered just as naturally.

Lainie wondered if maybe she was the one going crazy. Shaking her head, she almost missed her own name being called. "Here," she squeaked. Almost tangible, she felt his gaze shift toward her. She was never so happy for class beginning than she was when roll call was over and Mrs. Suffolk started talking about that week's chapter.

Tynan McKay walked down the hallway of the school. The last class had just let out and now it was time for extracurricular activities. It seemed to be a requirement that everyone join at least one club or team there and he was invited to check out whichever ones he was interested in before deciding. He frankly felt a bit overwhelmed. He almost sighed in relief when he spotted Willa heading toward him.

"How's it going?" she asked him.

"I think I prefer facing down Horrors over high schoolers," he said.

Willa nodded. "Me, too. Any luck? Do you think it's a student?" she asked.

He shook his head. "You know better than me that Horrors don't usually possess teenagers. They don't usually have enough built up dark energy no matter how they misbehave," he said.

Willa nodded. "If it's a Horror that's been active for two decades, it's likely a member of the staff. If it's gone unnoticed by the Senate and the Watchdogs, it's probably really high level," she said. "I've compiled a list of staff members that have been here for longer than the time period, including a couple of teachers who were once students when the disappearances are suspected to have begun," she said and handed him a piece of paper.

He scanned the paper. It wasn't a very long list. "We'll investigate tonight," he said.

She nodded. "That one's a weird one, though," she said, nodding toward a girl at her locker with long dark hair that she kept pulled away from her face with a headband that matched her navy blazer. Tynan's stomach clenched slightly.

It was _her._

He hadn't expected to end up in the same class as her even though he'd known she was a student of this school. She'd somehow resisted the memory charm he'd used on her and the other girls. Not only that but she'd been able to actually move his sword. His sword was made of Soul Metal and to anyone who hadn't trained for years to use it, it would be like trying to lift an anvil. Yet she'd somehow been able to.

"Oh?" he asked and cleared his throat.

Willa looked at him suspiciously. "Yeah. She seemed to realize I didn't belong in her class," she said. She narrowed her eyes. "I'll be keeping an eye on her," she declared.

"Right," he said. He was gone before Willa could comment on his attitude.

Lainie closed her locker and turned to walk away, but suddenly he was there, bracing his arms on either side of her, barely flinching when a baseball slammed into his shoulder. The thunk was audible and she gasped slightly as she realized he'd just saved her from getting hit. That they're faces were so close to each other.

So very close. Her oval face was fair, but had seen the sunshine. Her dark eyes were lined in dark lashes under delicate brows. There was even a few freckles across her nose and cheeks, only noticeable this close. So very close. Tynan might have forgotten how to breathe when his eyes were drawn to her lips. They were shiny, an eye catching pink shimmer.

Lainie had forgotten to breathe as well. She only remembered when he suddenly straightened away from her. His ears turned red again, and he rubbed the back of neck. "Are you okay?" she asked, wondering where the baseball had even come from. She saw a couple of guys from the baseball team trying to slip away unnoticed.

"Yeah. No problem," he mumbled and walked away.

Lainie opened her mouth to stop him but didn't know what to say. "Thank you," she finally called after him. She fanned her suddenly warm face. She looked at her watch and grimaced at the time. She had to hurry to her club activity.

-/-/-

The next day Lainie noticed something strange with the atmosphere at school. Over breakfast she heard people whispering about the Campus Cannibal. According to rumors, a freshman that lived off campus had gone missing. It was someone she didn't know, a boy. There was even a discussion that perhaps the boy hadn't even existed. She didn't know what to think.

After breakfast, she had to rush back to her room because she'd forgotten to bring a paper she'd written for a class. She was passing a storage building when she heard a loud bang. She rushed over quietly to investigate.

Tynan McKay and Willa Daniels were behind the building. Tynan shook out his hand and frowned at his bit of temper. "Serves you right," Shiba grumbled from his hand.

"Just because a student went missing doesn't mean it was a Horror or that it was your fault. We've received no word from Watchdogs about other suspected Horror activity," Willa stated.

"It's not just a rumor, then?" Tynan asked.

Willa shook her head. "I confirmed it personally," she said.

Tynan nodded. "We didn't get as far on the list as I'd hoped last night," he said. While investigating the staff members on the list, they'd run across a Horror that led them on a chase all over the city before they were able to corner it.

"We need to go. Best not to call attention to yourself by being late to class," Willa said.

"Speak for yourself," Tynan said.

"I'll go first then," Willa stated and walked off.

Tynan took Shiba off his finger and threaded him onto a silver chain. "Don't be shy about letting me know if you sense a Horror aura," he said, putting the chain around his neck. Shiba harrumphed as he was hidden under the white uniform shirt he wore.

He thought he heard something nearby and tried to see what it was, but when he came out from behind the building, he didn't see anything. He listened for anything else to prove he wasn't alone, but there were no more sounds. He cautiously started toward the main academic building when the homeroom bell rang.

From her hiding spot, Lainie watched him walk off. She let out the breath she'd been holding. Just what, exactly, was going on? She waited for him to put a fair amount of distance between them before she began heading toward her class room.

Tynan walked the campus grounds later that day. Throughout the day, they'd been systematically ruling out members of the staff being possessed by Horrors. He was headed toward a building that he was told housed several martial arts clubs. Since he was encouraged to join a club or team of some sort "for college application purposes", and a name on his list was the supervisor of the building, he figured his presence there wouldn't be called into question.

When he entered the building, he could hear various the sounds of students practicing. It was a nostalgic sort of sound. He could also hear the distinct sound of wooden swords clacking against each other. He wondered toward that sound. Sliding the door of the makeshift dojo open which read "Kendo Club", he glanced in.

There were about ten students in the club. Most of them were sitting on their legs around the central mat, where another two students were sparing. One was a lumbering guy with a pretty good form. The other was a slim, and good deal shorter than her opponent. But the skill in which she thoroughly defeated him was impressive to say the least.

When the match was over they bowed, and removed their protective headgear. It was her again. Lainie Hong. She shook out her hair and dabbed at the sweat on her brow.

A big hand settled on Tynan's shoulder and he froze. He slid the door closed and glanced behind him. His lighter was in his hand and flicked on before he even realized he was doing it. The dark skinned bald man towered over Tynan, which was a feat by itself, but he was also about three times as wide.

Other than the man's dark eyes contracting in response to the sudden light nothing else happened. The man grinned, flashing white teeth. "Ain't no need about that, boy," he said in a thick southern accent. "Put yo' doohickey away," he said. "No smoking allowed in school."

Tynan closed the lighter and slipped it back into his blazer. "Habit," he said.

On the list he had, the man's name was listed as Elvis Tierney. One more name to cross off the list. "If yo' thinkin' 'bout joinin' up, you can go one inside. They ain't gonna bite. I'm guessin' you ain't gonna be around that long," he said. The big man grinned again at Tynan's slightly confused expression. "Go on in for now," he said. He opened the door and pushed Tynan in with surprising ease.

Everyone looked at him when he stumbled in. Elvis Tierney blocked the door with his big body. "New kid's thinkin' bout joinin' ya'll," he said in his booming voice.

The lumbering guy who'd been sparring with Lainie Hong appeared to be the club's president or captain. He stepped forward. "This isn't a club just anybody can join, Mr. Tierney. If you don't even know the basics, there's no room for you," he told Tynan, puffing out his chest and trying to look important.

Before Tynan could answer, Mr. Tierney pushed him forward again. "Hand the boy a sword, see what he's made of," he suggested.

"This really isn't necessary. I don't know much about Kendo," Tynan declared.

"He's not wearing any protective gear either," Lainie stated. She could see that he wasn't comfortable being there or being the center of attention. His ears were glowing again.

"Go easy on him," Mr. Tierney stated. He didn't seem to be talking to the class but rather to Tynan.

Tynan could see that for whatever reason, he wasn't getting out of this without making things worse. He sighed and straightened his shoulders. He unbuttoned his blazer and loosened his tie and the first couple buttons of his shirt.

The Kendo captain smirked. He tossed him one of the wooden swords. "We'll make it fairer," he said and took off his protective chest covering and gauntlets.

"Baz, I'm not sure this is a good idea," Lainie said. She wasn't sure at the moment who she was worrying for. The moment Tynan McKay seemed to decide he was doing this, his entire demeanor changed. There was an air of absolute confidence hovering around him that she'd never seen before.

Baz ignored her and the two young men took to the mat. Both took their swords in two-handed stances. Lainie covered her mouth. Baz attacked. With quick concise movements, Tynan blocked every movement but didn't counter attack. Most of the other kids thought this was because Baz was taking it easy on the new kid but wasn't giving him a chance to retaliate.

Tynan was analyzing his attack style, watching his movements for weak points, and deciding the most efficient way to end this. Baz was slow to adapt when his opponent finally struck back. Tynan rose his sword to meet Baz's with a resounding clack. He twisted his body, hit the tip of the sword against his side and shoulder. Circling behind him, two quick slashed to the back of the knees had him falling to the floor. A final downward stroke was stopped short and he rested the sword against Baz's neck. The other boy swallowed hard. The students were stunned.

Tynan removed his sword. He rubbed the back of his neck again. "Yeah, that was probably against the rules, huh? Like I said, I don't know much about Kendo," he stated. He gave a slight bow and dropped the wooden sword. He forgot his blazer on the way out of the room and a grinning Elvis Tierney didn't stop him.

He shouldn't have done that. He was going to draw too much attention. If there was a Horror there, he didn't want to spook it or make it do anything drastic. Should he make them all forget what had just happened? No, memory spells were only to be used in necessary cases. He stopped under a tree and leaned against it. His mad flight from the building had propelled him a long way. He sighed and scraped a both hands through his hair and squeezed his eyes shut for a long moment.

When he opened them again, Lainie was standing in front of him holding his blazer. She was still dressed in her Kendo uniform but she'd removed her protective gear. She gave him a shy smile. "You left this," she said and held his blazer up to him.

He silently took it from her, nodded several times, cleared his throat, and finally managed to mumble thanks.

Lainie giggled. "It's okay. Look, don't worry too much about what happened. Martial arts nerds are low on the social radar. Aside from the other club kids, no one's going to care," she said.

Tynan nodded. "It wasn't that big of a deal. He's not that great. You were way better," he said, looking everywhere but at her.

She felt her face warm. "It's just luck. Our club is mostly a bunch of rich kids messing around. We don't even usually place in competitions," she said. Silence settled as she searched for something else to say. She wanted to ask him about this morning. About Horrors. About Willa Daniels. About the man in the red coat. About himself. Yet she couldn't find her voice to do so.

"You should get back. I should go. My grandfather will be looking for me," he said, swinging his blazer around as he slipped his arms into it. He hesitated. "Try not to wander around after dark," he said and walked past her.

Lainie turned and watched him walk away again. She found herself wondering how nice it'd be if he was walking toward her. Her cheeks grew warm at the thought. Not that the view of him walking away was a bad one. She covered her eyes and laughed at herself. Amid such terrible times, she was checking out a cute boy's butt. "Get ahold of yourself, girl," she scolded herself and walked back to the club.

Tynan entered his house. Located outside the city on a large plot of land that was protected by a mystical barrier, his house was a mixture of Eastern and Western influences. It was home to one of the most prestigious and famous Makai Priests in the Western world. Hiro Yamamoto. Willa was his apprentice.

"Is anyone home?" he asked a black clad figure by the door.

"Master Yamamoto is in his workshop with Miss Willa," a hollow voice answered.

"Thank you, Ichi," he said. The figure bowed to him.

It was one of two humanoid automatons that his grandfather had created to watch over his orphaned grandson and the house long ago. Tynan exited the house through the back doorway and walked across the back yard to the workshop. He entered the building. His grandfather was hunched over a worktable with a magnifying contraption placed over his eyes as he held a delicate brush over the innerworkings of a delicate mystic tool.

The old man wasn't a very impressive sight. On the short side, with iron colored hair. But in both mystical and magical skill, the old man couldn't be beat. He'd had the chance to become a Knight, but preferred becoming a Priest, leaving his twin brother to become the Knight instead. They'd been assigned to America together but eventually other assignments drew them apart.

Willa had a cauldron set up with computer code floating above it as she flicked it around with her brush. She could do amazing things with mysticism and modern technology. A genius in her own way and the only apprentice Hiro had ever taken aside from Tynan's mother.

"Grandpa. Do you know anything about a man named Elvis Tierney?" he asked.

"Isn't he one of the names from the list?" Willa asked absently.

Grandpa paused in his work. "He was chosen as Solaris, but a fierce battle with a Horror cost him an arm and part of his leg. He still teaches young knights, but mostly lives a civilian life," he answered. "Made his new limbs myself," he said.

Tynan nodded. "That explains it," he said. He hadn't noticed the man moving with any difficulty. Grandpa's work was impeccable as always. He slipped Shiba back onto his hand. The ring grumbled and complained but Tynan ignored him. "How many names did we clear today?" he asked Willa.

"Five. I've expanded my search parameters a bit to other people that may be connected to the school, but there aren't many more potential suspects," she said.

He nodded. "We'll head out after dinner. I'm famished. I could smell Ni cooking when I walked in," he said.

Willa slashed her brush over the top of the cauldron then hooked it on her belt. "Let's go," she said.

Grandpa was back in work mode, but Tynan knew that the automatons would make sure he ate something. "Ty," Grandpa said, surprising the young man. "If this is truly a Horror you face, it will be dangerous if it's this deceptive. Remember why I created Ichi and Ni. They aren't just butlers and babysitters," he said.

"Understood," Ty said. He and Willa left the workshop together.

A few more names were scratched off Willa's revised list that night. She had ways of finding out where people were. It was nearly mid-night when their travels took them back to the school. It was suspicious the night janitor would at the school so late.

Willa took a device out of her coat and blew on it. A small ball of blue-white flame was produced and it flew off. They followed it as it tracked down their prey.

Even though it was late, Lainie was wide awake. She'd already finished her homework for the day, but she was nervous. What if another student went missing? She wished there was something she could do, but she knew there wasn't. She sat in the window seat of her dorm room, watching the quiet grounds of the school where absolutely nothing was happening.

She was finally starting to doze off when she saw it. A flash of red. She blinked and looked harder. The man in the red coat was at the school. Knowing she was being a complete idiot and unable to stop herself, she quickly dressed and put on her shoes. She slipped out of her room and snuck downstairs.

Maybe tonight she'd get some answers. She just hoped she wouldn't regret it when she did.

Ty and Willa found the night janitor passed out in a supply closet in the main building. "Is he a Horror or just a drunk?" Willa asked sourly.

Ty squatted down and shook the man. With a great snort, the man opened his eyes. "Hmm? Is it dinner time yet?" he asked in a slur. Ty flipped out his lighter and held the flame in front of the man's face. His eyes paled and dark letters swirled around. He pushed the youth away and sprang to feet. "Two tasty treats just happened to wander by," he said with an evil grin that parted his face nearly in half.

"That's not happening, Horror," Ty declared. He produced a red sheathed sword.

The Horror hissed. "Makai Knight," he spat. He turned and seeming to turn into liquid, slid through the cracks of a small window in the store room.

Ty uttered a curse and ran out of the building. Willa was right on his tail.

Lainie was frantically searching for another sign of the man in the red coat when she almost literally ran into the night janitor. She froze at his sudden appearance. When he saw her he grinned. "Hello, tasty," he grinned and lunged at her.

She ducked under his reached and bounced back. "Who're you calling 'tasty', perve?" she demanded.

The janitor rounded on her again. She struck out with her fist and punched him in the nose. He cried out, gripping his face. "You little bitch!" He lunged again, this time earning a kick to his groin. His face distorted in pain. Then just distorted as he began to change shapes.

His face split in half as his teeth grew to improbable proportions and body contorted. His neck extended and a tail grew. He ended up looking like a weird mannequin with strange proportions. His head rotated up and down so that his grin turned into a frown and his eyes where below his mouth.

Lainie scrambled back. He swiped at her with strangely dinosaur-like but also human-like arms. She ducked and jumped, trying to get away. He swiped his tail at her. It hit her in the side and sent her knocking against the wall of the storage building. She hit the back of her head and her legs turned to jelly. She slid down as the Horror menaced closer to her.

A blast of bright energy knocked him away. He turned with a snarl. A blurry girl pointed her a paintbrush at him. The blurry man in the red coat ran forward, slinging the sheath from his double-edged sword. The Horror whipped out with his tail. A slash of the blade sent the tip of it flying. The Horror screamed in rage and pain and lashed out again. The tip of the tail regrew again.

The tail and sword engaged in combat, which had the man in the coat ducking, jumping and bouncing around in a way that Lainie's woozy vision couldn't keep up with. Groaning, she weakly raised her hand to her head.

In a change of tactics, the Horror's face whipped forward on its long neck. Rotating it's face again, it snapped its teeth at him. Ty barely had a moment to flip backwards. He raised his sword above his head and whipped the blade in a circle. The circle glowed red and opened, his armor covering his body, his sword changed form to the larger, more ornate form used for killing and sealing horrors.

With a distorted shout, he rushed forward. The Horror rushed at him as well. A two-pronged attacked swept toward him. The tail whipped forward, and the face tried to snap at him again. "Not happening!" He ducked under the tail, and pushed it up. The Horror bit its own tail. It shuddered and screamed in rage again. "Hah!" the Knight threw his lighter into the air. He jumped, slashed his blade through the flame and ignited himself.

With the Horror's gaping mouth coming at him, he slashed down, splitting the face in half, then the neck. When he touched the ground again, he continued his slash, cleaving the body. The Horror screamed as it died, evaporating into a dark nothing. The armor was sucked back up into the sky. Ty sheathed his sword and put it back into his coat.

"I was right," Elvis Tierney walked out of the darkness. "You is the Blazing Knight," he declared. "I'd heard there was a new Tyrant, but seein' it fo' myself?" he whistled in admiration. Ty bowed slightly.

Willa approached. "What do you know about the Campus Cannibal, Mr. Tierney?" she asked, giving him a respectful bow as well.

Elvis shook his head. "Started workin' here after I lost my bits an' pieces, but it was after the first time. When it happened again, I tried to figure out what was up, but couldn't find any proof it was a Horror," he explained. "I reckon if it was, it was him? He was workin' here when I started," he said, referring to the janitor.

Ty sighed and walked over the now unconscious Lainie. She'd lost the fight around the time he summoned his armor. He smiled slightly. She was kind of amazing. He brushed some hair out of her face. "We'll have to see," he said. He scooped the girl up into his arms.

"I'll go report to the Watchdogs," Willa declared.

"I bes' be on my way, too," Elvis declared. "It was an honor," he said to Ty and gave him a bow.

"The honor was mine. Solaris is a high title, not easily claimed," he stated.

Elvis didn't comment, instead his quietly disappeared into the shadows.

Ty tensed when the girl in his arms gave a sigh and snuggled her face against his shoulder. Instead of waking, she seemed to be making herself more comfortable. He swallowed. "You shouldn't do that," he mumbled.

He carried her back to her dormitory, slipping inside, making no noise he headed unerringly to her room. He slipped in and lay her on the bed. She sighed again as she snuggled into the bed. Ty forced himself to leave.

Lainie's eyes opened just as she saw her door close on a flash of red. She sat up, intending to finally catch him, but a wave of dizziness nixed that idea immediately. She pouted and lay back down. It finally occurred to her to wonder how he knew where her room was. She decided that wasn't the worst thing and closed her eyes again, settling into sleep.

Most students wouldn't know about the disappearance of the night janitor, but it was the whispers that a senior girl disappeared the night before. Willa thought it was possible that the night janitor had been behind it, but Ty wasn't convinced. The truth was, he'd beaten him too easily.

"I agree. His aura was easily detectable," Shiba had chimed in.

Ty thought it was best to attend school for a few more days just to be safe. When he entered his homeroom class and saw Lainie sitting at her desk gazing out the window, his stomach clenched. He hadn't used a memory charm on her. Doing that too often to one person could be dangerous. He slid into his desk.

Lainie glanced at him. She gave him a small smile before looking back out the window. She had questions for him, yes, but this wasn't the time or the place. She had to find out his connection to the man in the red coat.

He resisted asking her if she was okay. She didn't seem to have recognized him from the night before. He was relieved.

He met up with Willa during lunch. "Well, it's official. From what I've found out, if it is a Horror, it does seem to like virgins. The freshman who disappeared had never had a relationship. The senior was in the chastity club and her boyfriend often complained about her not putting out," she declared.

"For someone as cranky and anti-social as you, you always seem to get information," Ty said with a slight smile.

She made a face. "Who says I socialize to find things out?" she asked. "Maybe we should set a trap. We could use you as bait," she declared.

He gave her a dark look that she smirked at. "I have a few things to do before my next class," she said as she went her own way.

Ty smiled slightly and shook his head. He wandered off found a quiet spot to sit down under a shady tree. He pulled out the list. More names were crossed off. Very few remained. He hastily put it away when he heard someone approaching him. He glanced up to see that it was Lainie Hong. Her long hair was caught in the breeze. She had something in her hands and grimaced when it whipped across her face. "Mind if I join you?" she asked.

"Uh, yes. S-sure," he said.

"Thanks," she said and sat down beside him. She jerked her leg away when her knee accidentally grazed against his. She flushed and held out one of her hands, showing that she had a large muffin in it. "I noticed you didn't go to lunch. You should eat," she said.

He took the muffin. "Thank you," he said. She pulled a carton of cold milk out one of her pockets and handed it over as well. He smiled and took it. They ate in silence. Lainie sighed. She'd come out with the determination of demanding answers, but once again found herself unable to ask the questions.

"Is everything okay?" he asked. She must have a lot on her mind, especially after last night. He wondered how her head was feeling.

Lainie pursed her lips and looked at him for a long moment. She started laughing. "Geeze, are you a kid?" she asked. Without thinking, she reached out and used her thumb to brush the milk mustache from his upper lip. She gasped quietly and jerked her hand back when she realized what she was doing.

His ears turned red and he looked away. "Sorry," she murmured.

"For what?" he asked, looking at her again.

Oh, he really had beautiful eyes. She blinked and shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted.

Ty smiled and chuckled. "Whatever it is, you probably don't need to apologize for it," he said.

Lainie smiled. "I guess," she said. She stood up, and wobbled as she a wave of dizziness overtook her. Almost immediately, his hands steadied her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Fine. I just bumped my head last night," she said. "I'm okay now," she said. He jerked his hands back and she instantly wished she hadn't said anything.

"If it's bad, you should see the nurse," he said.

She nodded. They headed back to the main building since the bell would be ringing soon. When they entered and headed toward the lockers, a group of girls descended on them. They ignored Lainie and looked at Ty.

"There's a party tonight. You should definitely come," one of the girls said. The other girls giggled.

"It's a cherry popping party," one admitted.

"It's to deprive the virgin eating cannibal of food," another said.

"You should _definitely_ be there."

Lainie rolled her eyes but almost laughed at his panic-stricken expression. "If any of you need to protect yourselves from a virgin eating cannibal, I'm a tall blonde girl in disguise," she declared. "We have to get to our lockers or we'll be late for class," she said, taking his arm and barreling through the crowd.

He followed along meekly, but had to smile a bit. "Thank you. I think you just saved my virtue," he said when they reached their lockers.

"I _definitely_ just saved your virtue," she shot back. Her demographic suddenly disgusted her. Instead of wisely staying inside and staying safe, the teenagers decided having a sex party was the best solution for what was happening. Although, she peeked at him, a few lockers down, a party for two wasn't the worst idea. She grimaced and shook her head, disgusted with herself. She cleared her throat. "Some first week you're having," she said.

"Yeah," he said. A similar thought had gone through his mind, he was frankly shocked at himself. He had a job to do and it did not involve a private party with Lainie Hong. He grumpily grabbed at his books and stopped short of slamming his locker. "Later," he muttered and headed to his next class.

Lainie let out a shaky breath. "Get a hold of yourself, for real," she said to herself. She closed her locker and headed to her next class.

Willa and Ty watched teenagers go into a warehouse owned by one of the rich kids' rich daddy. Willa had expressed similar disgust aloud as Lainie had mentally, but thought it'd be a good idea to monitor the area. Even if it wasn't the Horror they were after, this situation was likely to draw others.

"It's okay to like her, you know. It's not like Makai Knights take a vow of celibacy or anything. I mean, they don't produce the next generation through mitosis," she stated seemingly out of nowhere. "You exist because your dad met, liked, and married your mother," she pointed out.

"I am aware of how babies are made, thank you," he said dryly. "The problem is that she's an ordinary girl. She shouldn't need to be involved in our world," he said.

"At least you're aren't denying you like her. Wait 'til I tell Lex," she said.

"You tell him nothing," Ty denied flatly.

"I sense a Horror," Shiba said suddenly.

Willa pulled out her sounding plate and blew on it, producing the fiery orb. It flew off. "Let's go before he gets a chance to eat one of these idiots," she suggested. Ty nodded and they went off after the Horror.

Lainie had stayed up half the night wondering if she'd see the man in the red coat again. Eventually, she fell asleep. She overslept, missed breakfast, and rushed into her first period class only moments before the bell rang.

Ty noticed her flustered appearance and was thoroughly charmed by it. Though he wasn't sure how to point out that she'd misaligned her the buttons of her shirt. He cleared his throat and leaned over a bit. "Um," he started.

She glanced at him. His ears tinted. "Your shirt," he said, without looking at her he straightened back up.

Lainie was confused until she looked down. She gasped and blushed. She wouldn't be able to fix it until class was over, so she quickly pulled her blazer closed to hide it. That he'd been the one to see bothered her more than it should have. She wondered if anything bad happened last night. She hoped not.

Her hopes were dashed when she found out later that another student did indeed disappear. She didn't have the details, but she wondered if Willa and Ty did. She decided to try again at lunch to find out answers.

She found him alone again. Though not exactly frowning, there was a dark expression on his face, a crease between his brows. She hesitated to approach him. Maybe she should leave it alone. She was just being nosy after all.

Ty glanced up and noticed her standing there. He rubbed his face to ease his worry line. He waved at her and smiled. She continued her approach. "You came bearing food again," he said.

"I missed breakfast," she said and sat down next to him. This time she'd opted for some protein and brought wrapped turkey subs and cans of cola in her pockets. "And you shouldn't keep skipping lunch," she said and handed him one. "Also, thank you this morning," she added.

He gave a slight smile. He gratefully took the sandwich and cola. He waited until they finished eating before speaking again. "You keep approaching me with an ulterior motive but never get around to saying anything. What is it?" he asked.

She swallowed. "You knew?" she asked.

"I've thought about and there are really only two reasons someone would keep following me around like this. You either like me or you want something from me," he said.

That made sense, she realized. She looked down at her shoes. "And you assume it's not because I like you?" she asked. "You haven't thought that maybe I fell for you when you protected me the baseball in the hallway? That I was awe struck by your sword form? That you have the most beautiful eyes?" she said, and jutted her chin out. Why she was offended, she couldn't say. It was true, after all, that she wanted answers from him.

Ty rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. "No," he said. He didn't even know how to even begin processing that if it were even true. Was it? Did he want it to be?

"Well, that's your self-esteem issue," she declared. "It's both," she admitted. "Although 'fell for' is a bit extreme, but why wouldn't I want to get to know you better?" she said quickly. "I have been wanting to ask what you and Willa Daniels know about the missing kids, the man in the red coat and the monsters, the Horrors," she said with a serious expression.

He looked at her. "You shouldn't worry about any of that," he said.

"But I am worried. I could be next. I qualify. I overheard you and Willa talking the other morning," she admitted.

Ty sighed. "I thought that was probably you," he said. The bell rang signaling the end of the free lunch period. Neither of them moved. "I won't let anything happen to you," he vowed.

She smiled. "That's a nice sentiment, but knowledge is power. I need to know so that I can protect myself," she stated. She'd been shuffled around too much to depend on anyone other than herself.

"Come with me," he said, getting to his feet. He helped her to hers and they walked away. They headed for the storage building. He walked into the one of the rooms. Lainie was surprised to see Willa Daniels standing in front of a small cauldron on a pedestal waving a paint brush over it as information floated in the air above it. She blinked owlishly at the intruder.

Ty quickly closed the door behind them. He pulled Shiba out from under his shirt and put him back on his finger. The ring yawned and blinked at the change. "Is it time to leave this teenager infested cesspool?" he asked hopefully.

Lainie gasped at the talking ring.

"No such luck," Willa stated. "I suppose you brought her here for a reason?" she asked.

"Don't I always have a reason?" he said. "Shiba, I need a tracker," he said and held his hand out toward and empty desk. The ring opened its jaws and seemed to puke up a silver creature that formed itself into a ring. Lainie's eyes widened.

Ty held up the ring. "If you wear this, we'll always know where you are and if you're near a Horror. I told you, I won't let anything happen to you," he said.

Lainie took the ring and slid it onto her middle finger. "I still want answers," she said.

"Slowly. Trying to explain everything...trying to explain at once is impossible," he said.

"Then, what are Horrors?" she asked. "Where do they come from?" she asked.

"In our ancient language, we call it the Makai. It's a realm of demons that feed on people. They get to our world through what we call Gates. Dark objects with too much negative energy connected to them. They possess people who are willing to trade their souls for whatever the Horror offers them without realizing that means they no longer exist. On rare occasions, they do let the human mind coexist," as Willa explained, she waved her brush over her cauldron to show images illustrating her explanation.

Lainie nodded. "And the man in the red coat fights them?" she asked.

Willa smothered a laugh. "Yes, he does. He's a Makai Knight. They exist to fight the Horrors and protect humanity. Makai Priests such as myself do whatever we can to assist the Knights and protect humanity, whether using spells, building tools, gathering information, sometimes fighting Horrors as well," she added. She waved her brush again and the images stopped.

"What about the disappearing kids and the cannibal that strikes every seven years?" Lainie asked.

"We don't have proof it's Horror related, just very strong gut instincts. It possible it could be a run of the mill human crazy," Willa added.

"But you guys don't think so?" Lainie said, glancing between them.

Ty nodded. "I'm almost positive at this point. If the night janitor had been a Horror all along, we would have detected him sooner," he said.

Willa nodded. "I found out that the Horror from last night is a former member of the staff. She was laid off a couple years ago, but she was around when the first two incidents happened. And the kid who disappeared had gone to the party but never made it there," she said.

Ty rubbed the bridge of his nose. "That means it knows we're looking for it and is throwing up a smoke screen by giving us other suspects, but how does it know? It's gone this long without attracting attention, how would it know it's being investigated now?" he asked. He wasn't really expecting an answer.

"Maybe it heard Tyrant is back and is covering its bases so it doesn't get discovered?" Willa suggested. "Giving plausible scapegoats for disappearing students. Horrors have used other Horrors before. It's not impossible that it's happening now," she added.

"What's a Tyrant?" Lainie queried. She couldn't even believe she as standing here listening to such an insane conversation.

"Blazing Knight Tyrant. It's one of the most respected Makai Knight titles in the world. The last Tyrant died before the next one in line was ready to take up the mantle," Willa answered. "Now that he has, perhaps the horrors are spreading the news," she said and shrugged.

"It's possible, but even without Tyrant, there are other knights. Good ones," Ty said.

"When I know more, you'll know more. Please leave now and stop distracting me from my work," she said, shooing them with her brush.

"Come on, she's getting cranky. That's never a good sign," Ty said and led Lainie out of the storage room.

"You two seem really close," Lainie said.

"She's my grandpa's student," he said with a shrug.

Lainie nodded. "Thank you. For trusting me, I mean," she said.

"How's it feel know how scary the world really is?" he asked.

Lainie gave a humorless laugh. "It's awful, but it also makes me appreciate the good things more," she said. "I sound like a motivational meme," she said and grimaced.

Ty chuckled. "The next period will be starting soon, we should be heading back," he said.

Lainie glanced at the storage building then at him. "She doesn't go to classes?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Only first period so it looks like she belongs here if people happen to wonder about her," he said. "I, on the other hand, have to pretend to actually be a student," he said.

She shuffled her feet and fiddled with her headband. "So, when this is all over, you won't be coming back to school anymore?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"Ah. No," he said. "I was technically homeschooled and graduated a couple years ago," he said.

"What? How old are you?" she asked.

"Oh, no. I'm the right age, I just finished already," he said. His ears turned red again as he wondered if she thought he was some too old for high school pervert trying to hit on her or something.

Lainie laughed. "Okay. I wasn't thinking anything weird. I just thought you were well preserved if you were older," she said. She giggled at the little frown he shot her. She continued to giggle at him as they headed toward the main building.

Another night of successful yet unsuccessful hunting went by. Another Horror was taken care of, but another student had gone missing. Lainie sought Ty out before class since he seemed to take it personally whenever that happened. She waited for him at the front entrance of the school. A black town car driven by a shadowy man in a chauffer's cap pulled up. The back door opened and Ty unfolded himself from within. He bid the driver farewell and closed the door. The car drove away.

Lainie was somewhat surprised. She didn't know why but she hadn't expected him to be the same sort of rich kid as most of the other students. He seemed to freeze when he noticed her standing there. He fidgeted and approached her. "Hey," he greeted.

"Hey. I heard that someone else is missing," she said. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "I'm the one that's sorry. We don't seem to be making any progress," he said. "This is the fourth one. Only three more days and we lose our window and three more people. You aren't wandering around at night, are you?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. I swear," she said.

"Good," he said and walked with her inside the building toward their lockers. Somehow, just being around her made him feel better about things.

Ty wasn't sure when he'd gotten used to Lainie seeking him out during lunch. He was feeling a bit disappointed when she didn't. Maybe now that she had her answers, she didn't want to bother with him anymore. Maybe that was for the best. His life was dangerous and she was just an ordinary girl. An amazing one, but she didn't belong in his world.

"What are you over here pouting about?" Lainie approached. She had a plastic bag draped over one arm and she carried a box in her hands. She settled onto the ground beside him while he gaped at her. "Sorry for being a late. I'd gotten a message earlier that I'd received a package, so I went to check my mail," she explained. She sat down the box and pulled a couple of cold fruit drinks from her pockets.

"It's okay," he said, inordinately pleased that she showed up. "What's in the box?" he asked.

She grinned at him and opened the box. "Tacos," she said and opened the box to display a line of crunchy corn tortilla shells filled with meat and other toppings. "Dig in," she prompted as she dug in the plastic bag and pulled out her mail. She found a bubble mailer and opened it up, pulling out a headband that'd been decorated with some bells and red feathers. "Hmm? I didn't order this," she said looked in the envelope for a note or something. There was nothing.

The envelope had her name printed on it clearly but there was no return address. She put the headband back in the envelope and sorted through what was mostly junk mail, a martial arts magazine she subscribed to, and a creamy envelope with her name on it in golden calligraphy. The back was sealed with wax with impression of the school's crest.

She opened it up and scrunched her nose.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Even while he was eating, he'd been watching her the whole time. All the expressions flitting across her face were fascinating.

"It's an invitation to have dinner with the headmistress tonight to honor my academic accomplishments for the first quarter," she said. "I didn't think my grades were that impressive. Sure, all A's, but not like high ones or anything," she murmured herself.

"Congratulations, but be careful after dark," he warned her.

She nodded. She put her mail away and grabbed a taco.

The Headmistress lived in a regal house on campus. It was befitting the leader of a prestigious school like Greystone Armitage Redford Oxnard. Still finding it weird that she was invited to a dinner to celebrate her academic achievements, she nonetheless readied herself in a modest red dress and put on her new headband. Luckily it didn't incessantly jingle when she moved. There had to be some force before they made a sound.

Finally deciding she looked presentable enough, she left her dorm room and headed toward the Headmaster's home. She nervously turned the ring on her finger. She wondered what Tynan and Willa were doing. Were they having any luck? Were they safe? She hoped so. Pushing aside her worry, she straightened her shoulders and continued.

One of the last names on Willa's list was the librarian that had been with the school for nearly forty years. They reasoned it was possible that at some point in her career she'd been taken over a by a Horror. They tracked her to a park where some of the off-campus students like to go to play basketball.

"I doubt there's any innocent reason for a middle-aged librarian to be here," Willa declared. They could see the woman sitting on a nearby park bench. She wanted to appear to be reading, but the bench wasn't under a light, and she was watching the players with way too much interest.

"Kind of hoping she's a Horror," Ty admitted. "Figure out a way to get rid of those guys. I'll handle her," he said.

Willa nodded. He palmed her Brush and swished it. The bristles glowed. "Ha!" she thrust a magic spell at the basketball the boys were using. It exploded just as it bounced on the ground. The guys stumbled back, surprised. There was a lot of grousing and blaming each other and whoever owned the ball, but it was clear they were about to leave.

Ty sat down on the bench next to the librarian. She glanced at him, a smile curving her mouth. "It's dark out. Maybe I can help," he said. He held out his hand and flicked the lighter in front of her face. Dark characters swirled in her eyes. She hissed at him and recoiled. She sprang behind the bench and tried to take off running.

"Ha!" Willa managed to get in front of her and cut off her escape with a quick barrier spell.

The Horror looked between the two. She screamed in rage. Her skin split apart and like a snake a horrible part woman, part reptile slithered forth. She hissed at them. Her two serpentine tails whipped out at them both. "Why?" she demanded. "I haven't eaten anyone," she defended herself.

Willa got hit and was sent flying. "Ugh," she muttered. She flicked her Brush and turned herself invisible. Fighting wasn't her strong suit.

Ty jumped over the tail, rolled, and stood, unsheathing his sword. "No? What about the woman whose life you stole?" he demanded.

She hissed again. "She chose this," she said and ran a hand down her body. "She wanted to be beautiful enough attract luscious young men like you," she stated.

"They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In her instance the beholder must be blind," Shiba quipped.

A snarl of rage had her whipping out with her tails again. Ty used his sword to protect himself, but the blade, even made of Soul Metal, seemed to bounce off her scales. She laughed and spit acid at him. He managed to avoid it but lost his footing and went down. He rolled, avoiding another stream of acid. He managed to avoid a few more slashes and attacks from her tails.

He jumped back, landing in a crouch. He quickly whipped his sword in a circle and summoned his armor. He sprang forward with the intent to hit her hard and fast. "Haaaa!" A third tail that rather arbitrarily appeared at her will caught him off guard. It wept his feet out from under him. Another knocked his sword from his hand. The tails wrapped him tightly and lifted him from the ground.

He grunted and struggled. She slithered him closer to her. "I can't wait to taste you," she said, stroking a hand down his armored face. She threw her head back and laughed.

"That's totally gross and not happening!" Willa declared. She produced a ball of white-blue fire then caught with her Brush. She spun in a circle and a flicked her wrist at him. The ball hit him and he burst into crimson flames.

The Horror screamed and dropped him. He rolled over to his sword. It was set ablaze as he grabbed it. "Haaa!" He ran at her again. Each time a tail tried to hinder him, his blade slid through it like butter until he finally slashed his blade through her core. She let out a horrendous shriek as she died.

He canceled his armor. "Thanks for the save," he told Willa.

"No problem," she said.

"Tynan," Shiba said suddenly. "I can no longer detect that girl," he said.

"What?" Ty demanded.

Willa pulled a device out of her coat. She waved her brush over it and a small holographic map appeared. She shook her head. "It can't detect any traces of her Soul Metal ring either," she declared.

Ty uttered a curse under his breath. "The Headmistress. She was going to dinner with the Headmistress tonight," he said.

Willa blinked. "She wasn't on the list. She hasn't been there long enough," she said.

"Find out anything you can," Ty said and began running back toward the school. Willa bit her lip and started behind him.

Lainie entered the Headmistress's residence. The foyer was well lit and grand. Elegant and iron haired, the pale woman was a cool beauty. "Please come into the dining room," she invited.

Lainie followed her into a grand dining room. It seemed, however, that there wouldn't be on the two of them. There was a gentleman there as well. "My brother," the Headmistress, Ms. Bainbridge, introduced. "He has an avid interest in hardworking, academic students," she explained.

Mr. Bainbridge gave her a smile that frankly creeped Lainie out. She pushed a strand of hair behind her shoulder. "Thank you, but there really must be some sort of mistake," she said.

"Nonsense," Mr. Bainbridge said and held a chair out for her at the table. "Anyone willing to work hard despite difficult circumstances is worthy of admiration," he said. He was as iron haired and icy-pretty as his sister. She felt like she could take him if he tried anything skeevy.

She sat down. "Difficult circumstances?" she asked.

Mr. Bainbridge seated his sister at one end of the table as she answered. "Yes, dear. We can't imagine how difficult it must be without the support of a family," she said.

Mr. Bainbridge sat down at the other end of the table and smiled. "No offense was meant. Please, do enjoy your meal," he said, gesturing to the sumptuous dinner waiting for them.

Lainie gave a slight nod of her head. It was really none of these people's business whether she had a family. While the Bainbridge's tucked in, she merely picked at her food, answering questions when they were addressed to her.

"You really do tick all the boxes for us, child. Smart, hardworking, innocent, and alone," Mr. Bainbridge said finally, a pleased smile on his face.

Lainie stiffened. "Excuse me?" she asked.

Ms. Bainbridge gave an indulgent chuckle. "Why, my dear, who would even notice if you were to disappear?" she asked.

Lainie looked between the eerie pair and took a deep breath. "People know I was coming here," she declared.

"But no one knows if you made it or not, do they?" Mr. Bainbridge stated.

Although she suspected it was futile she jumped out of her chair and ran for the door. She tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. The Bainbridge's stood in the foyer watching her. "Sorry, dear, you can come in, but you can't go out," Ms. Bainbridge told her in a pleasant tone. "We'd really rather you didn't exert yourself trying to run," she said. She approached, Lainie, but the girl was quick. She ducked and kicked out, hitting the woman in the middle. Ms. Bainbridge was knocked back. "Oh, you wicked thing," she chided. "You're going to make my brother angry," she said.

"Misbehaving children are really my one pet peeve. And here we thought you were an obedient child," Mr. Bainbridge said chidingly. He reached an arm out. It stretched over the width of the foyer and knocked her away from the door.

She cried out when she hit the wall. The bells on her hairband jangled. The Bainbridge's seemed to flinch at the sound.

The door suddenly opened and someone stepped in. Another student dressed in the uniform. The Bainbridge's regrouped. "This is a private dinner, my boy," Mr. Bainbridge stated.

"It's also very rude to enter someone's home without being invited. You didn't even knock," Ms. Bainbridge scolded.

"Ty," Lainie gasped. "Why are you here? It's dangerous," she said.

Ty ignored the Bainbridge's. "I told you, didn't I? I won't let anything happen to you," he said.

"We can't leave," she said.

"Yeah, I know. Willa will work on the barrier," he said. He smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Find somewhere safe to stay out of way," he said and turned his attention back to the Bainbridge's. "Now then," he said. He unbuttoned his blazer, and flicked it behind him. As he did so the tails billowed out behind him and it turned red.

Lainie gasped again. Ty didn't just know the man in the red coat. He _was_ the man in the red coat. She probably should have figured that out sooner, but she didn't think someone as young as him was doing something so dangerous. He really did live in a different world than she did.

Ty flipped out his lighter and held it up the Bainbridge's. Dark characters swirled in their eyes. "So, you are the ones who've been eating the students here," he said.

Ms. Bainbridge laughed. "Look at this brat. They're letting toddlers become Makai Knights these days," she scoffed as she and her brother began circling around him. He reached into his coat for his sword and turned as they paced around him.

" _Child. I've been eating people for longer than you've been alive_ ," both of stated as one in the ancient language of the Horrors.

"Tynan, it's Manjanus. It's a two-faced Horror that has the ability to change shapes," Shiba explained.

The Bainbridge's laughed. " _For so long, no one knew where I dwelled_ ," Manjanus seethed. They lunged at the young Knight. He drew his sword and slashed at them, fighting them back. They laughed again. " _So much spirit for one so young. We'll happily add you to our menu. Such a rare treat to have a two-course meal_ ," they continued speaking as one as they approached each other.

They glowed and melded into one being. With flowing iron hair, the Horror they became ad two front, a white naked female front, and a white naked male front. A skirt of rags flew around as if caught in a wind storm. The panels of the skirt whipped out, propelling Manjanus along. Some of the rags reached for Lainie, who'd been trying to find her way out.

Ty ran over to her. He slashed at the rags. He grabbed her hand and ran up the stairs with her. They could hear Manjanus laughing behind them. Parts of the cloth continued to reach for them, coming from everywhere, as if the house itself was part of the creature.

Lainie yelped when one rag managed to wrap around her leg and jerk her back. She fell on the stairs and was pulled down a few, making her headband jangle loudly. For a moment, the rags around them retreated.

Ty quickly helped her to her feet and they continued up the stairs. He pulled her inside sitting room and rushed over to balcony doors he'd seen when he did reconnaissance before entering the house. He pulled them open. He able to step out on to the balcony but a barrier kept him from leaving it.

A ball of blue-white fire hovered just beyond the barrier. "It's on the highest point of the house. No matter what I try I can't get to it," Willa's voice told him. "If we don't deactivate the barrier, you won't be able to summon you're armor."

Lainie looked up. "I can get up there. You go do your thing," she told him.

He hesitated and she pushed him back toward the doors. "Let me help," she said. "This is something I can do," she assured him.

"Children? Where are you? Hiding is useless," Manjanus said, its voice seemingly coming from everywhere. Rags suddenly burst through the balcony door.

Ty stepped in front of Lainie and slashed at them. They gave a tiny shriek and retreated. He pulled a dagger out of his coat. He hesitated a moment but handed it to her. "Be careful," he said.

Lainie grunted when she took the dagger. It was much heavier than she expected. "Give me a boost," she said.

Ty knelt and cupped his hands. She put her foot in it. He lifted her up. She used the dagger to slam into the roof and drag herself up the rest of the way. Ivy that covered the house was also used to propel her along.

Ty stepped back into the house. She seemed confident and he decided to trust her. Almost immediately, rags shot out at him. He slashed again, trying to get through, but the rags had all but wrapped his legs and body like a mummy. They wrapped around his sword arm and smothered the blade.

Groaning he reached into his coat with his free hand and pulled out two silver spheres. "Ichi, Ni!" he cried and tossed the spheres. With a metallic clicking and clanking of gears and gizmos, the spheres began to grow, expand, taking on humanoid shapes, figures dressed in black with long, single bladed katanas.

The automatons slashed through the rags containing Ty. He took a deep relieved breath. He ran into the hallway, the automatons backing him up. Manjanus floated up the stairs. The female front glided toward him. "How hard you fight, child. It's almost impressive," she said in its dual voice. She rotated to the male front. "But useless!" His arms extended and shot toward him. He fought of the arms, more rags. Ichi and Ni attempted to help, but Manjanus had many appendages and they were busy fending for themselves.

Ty hoped Willa and Lainie were having more luck than he was.

Lainie scrambled onto the roof. The Horror's rags were everywhere and she swiped with the dagger. She could make out Willa on the ground attacking the barrier with her Brush, but it seemed to be a rather strong spell.

She wouldn't pretend she knew how any of this worked. The ball of fire had followed her up. "On the chimney, that piece of paper is the central force of the barrier. Destroy it and I'll break the rest," Willa informed her.

"Doing my best," Lainie said. She jumped over a rag coming at her. She slashed at it with the dagger. Another rag wrapped around her leg. Another grabbed at her arm holding the dagger. She grunted with exertion, trying to free herself. Her other leg was caught. Her headband jingled again when she jerked her body in an attempt to get away. The rags shrieked and loosed momentarily before tightening even more.

"Ah!" she cried out. With her free arm, she jerked the headband off her head and began to vigorously shake them. The jingles became louder and louder, purer and purer. The rags retreated from the sound, screaming. Now free, she threw the dagger at the piece of paper with the arcane symbols scrawled on it.

On the ground, Willa pulled a second brush out of her coat. She crossed them in front of her, blew on them, and slowly drew them apart. A few more intricate movement created several powerful floating fell. "Hiya!" Using the dual brushes, she flung the spells at the barrier. The resulting barrier threw her off her feet. The rest was up to Ty now.

A lucky attack send Ty crashing through the upper landing bannister. He tumbled through the air before crashing into the floor of the foyer with a resounding smack. The back of his head bounced and his world spun.

Manjanus laughed and began gliding back down the steps. "They don't make Makai Knights like they used to," it said. Rags began to wrap around him. "I will enjoy my meal." she declared.

The sound of bells cleared his head. The sound grew louder and louder. Like church bells. The sound reverberated off the walls and around.

Manjanus screamed, clutching at its head, the rags going wild.

Ty jumped to his feet. He lifted his sword and spun it a circle, summoning his armor. "Your reign of terror over this school is over. I will cut you down!" he said in his distorted voice. He lit his Sword on fire and slashed through the thrashing forest of rags as they tried to escape the sound of the bells.

Manjanus gave one lash horrible squeal when it's two-faced head went flying. It dissipated into dark nothingness, with the rags and the rest of its thrashing body following in its wake.

Lainie stopped jangling her headband and sat down hard at the top of the stairs. Ty canceled his armor and sheathed his sword. They stared at each other for a long moment, but Lainie was at her limited. She slumped against the unbroken bannister.

Willa rushed inside. She watched Ty walk up the stairs. He took the dagger out of one of Lainie's hands and slipped it back into his coat. He placed the headband back on her head and scooped her up. "Where on Earth did she get mystic bells?" she asked, perplexed. They were an incredibly rare and hard to make type of mystic tool.

Ty shook head. "Take Ichi and Ni back to Grandpa," he said. "I'll report to the Watchdogs later. You did good," he said.

Willa moved passed him to retrieve the metallic spears that the automatons had reverted to. "We all did good," she declared.

Ty smiled and nodded. He walked out of the Headmistress's residence with Lainie. She sighed and cracked her eyes open. "I'm heavy," she said, embarrassed that she had not only passed out, but he felt the need to carry her around.

"You're fine," he assured her.

She wanted to argue, but knew she'd probably be all wobbly if she attempted to walk. Instead she wound her arms around his neck and rested her cheek against his shoulder. She was supposed there were worse things than being carried princess style by a cute guy. Being eaten topped the list. She decided not to complain and enjoy the ride.

Monday dawned brightly. It was hard to believe it'd only been a week since students started disappearing. Only two that Bi had been devoured in the park and the man in the red coat saved Lainie and the rest of the girls she was with. It seemed a lifetime ago.

The official word was that Ms. Bainbridge retired early. The Deputy Headmaster was now acting Headmaster until the school's board of directors found a suitable replacement. The campus cannibal became just a legend again. And no one in school remembered Willa Daniels or Tynan McKay had ever been students.

That made Lainie rather sad. As friendly as she was with some of the other students, it didn't feel real anymore. She knew things she'd never be able to share with anyone else. At least with Ty around she hadn't felt so alone.

As she walked out of cafeteria during lunch, she realized she'd gotten enough food for two people by accident. Doing so had become a quick habit. She scoffed at herself and determined she was going to eat it all. With a pout, she walked toward the tree that Ty usually sat under to think.

She was almost there before she even realized that there was someone already there. She blinked, about to tell whoever it was to scram. "What a face. Should I leave?"

"Ty!" she gasped more jubilantly than she intended, which made her blush. She dropped her bag of food and wrapped her arms around his neck. She squeaked when she lost her balance and fell into his lap. She turned even redder.

He cleared his throat. "So, it's okay, me being here?" he asked. She nodded and attempted to scramble out of his lap. He didn't let her, his arms trapping her. She looked at him with wide eyes. Although his ears were brighter than ever, he smiled at her. He ducked his head and pressed his lips against hers. With a sigh of delight, she returned his kiss.

Her lonely little world collided with his. She realized she'd been afraid that she'd have to return to that world. She never wanted that happen. She'd finally let someone in and she couldn't imagine ever letting him go. The world of the Makai was dangerous and terrifying, but to Lainie Hong, it was where she needed to be. With Tynan McKay, the Blazing Knight Tyrant.

-The End-


	2. 02: Phantom

_Where there is light, shadows lurk and fears reigns._

 _Yet by the blades of Knights, mankind was given Hope._

The streets of Edge City were alive at night. People bustled around, crimes were committed, and sinners sinned. It was no different than any other city. Most places were plagued with such happenings. People, however, weren't the only dangers that lurked in the shadows. Humans could be monsters, it was true. Monsters were also monsters. Beings called Horrors could escape the Makai, a demonic underworld, and enter ours. When they found a person willing to give up their soul to them, they would then feast upon humans.

But Edge City had a protector. He lived with this darkness to keep humans safe from otherworldly monsters. He carried a sword and wore a red coat. He was a Makai Knight.

Tynan McKay ran along the back streets of the city. He paused when he came to a junction in the streets. Homeless people stared at him with part fear and part malice. His sudden arrival had awakened them from their sleep. He supposed a some tall, gawky kid wearing a long red coat and holding a sword was one of the weirder things they'd seen. "Tynan, I sense the Horror. He's here," a voice said from his hand that seemed to click with each syllable.

Ty lowered his sword and looked around. "It's blending in with the homeless here," he said, holding up the hand with the dragon-skull ring on his finger.

"Probably feasting on them," Shiba agreed. Many of the homeless people had finally dismissed him as another crazy and began settling back into their sleep. Others still watched him warily.

"Can you narrow it down?" he asked the ring.

Shiba blinked his jewel red eyes. "There's a lot of negative energy here. It's too hard to narrow down the Horror," he said.

The young Knight made a tch sound with his mouth. "How do we draw it out? My Mystic Fire isn't strong enough to test them all," he said.

"The Horror is on the move again," Shiba suddenly said. Ty adjusted his grip on his sword as he scanned the area for movement. There was a lot of it as his presence sent some of the homeless scurrying. He tilted his head as something else approached.

"You'd think as the first one of us to get his armor, you'd be a little better at this whole Makai Knight thing," said a voice as another figure stepped out of the shadows of another alleyway. A young man in a long gray coat stood there a moment. He had black hair and golden eyes that glittered in the murky light from nearby windows and a few barrel fires. "There's more than one," he said.

"Of course!" Shiba declared.

Ty smirked slightly. "Long time, no see, Lex," he greeted. "Shall we duel?" he asked, pulling out his Lighter.

The other young man smiled a toothy grin that Ty supposed probably drove girls wild. "Let's dance," he said, also pulling out a Lighter. Ty drew his sword and set it ablaze. He drew an arc of crimson fire.

His opposition flicked his lighter and tossed it in the air, then he sent a vaguely batwing shaped weapon spinning through it, spinning around alight with ghostly blue flame. The flames lit up the area. Not only did the Horror Ty had been chasing, but four others also stopped in their tracks as dark words passed over their eyes. They hissed and pulled back.

The homeless that had dismissed Tynan before now began to react. They tried to get away and the five Horrors tried to get away.

"Oh, no you don't! Ha!" Willa Daniels drew a character with her brush and put up a barrier. The humans were able to pass through it. The Horrors could not. They banged on the barrier. "Have fun, boys," she called out from her spot in an alley not far behind Tynan.

The young man called Lex held out his hand as the bladed weapon came back to him and the flames extinguished. He held out his other hand and broke it apart, and knocked it back together. The two halves grew into two slightly curved twin swords.

The Horrors, realizing that escape was now not an option, turned to the young men each at a different alley opening, they stood back to back. With roars and grunts, they grew into gargoyle-like creatures with horns and lopsided wings. Two rushed at Ty, and two rushed at the other young man.

Ty fought off one of the Horrors by kicking it in the sternum and flipping back to cut at the other. The Horrors screamed and pounced on him at once. One grabbed him around the shoulders and the other tried to slash at his head with its claws. Ty headbutted the Horror who held him enough to loosen its grip. He dropped to a crouch and the other Horror slashed it instead. They both reacted in outrage. Ty set his blade aflame and slashed through them., turning them into nothing.

Lex waited calmly, almost bored as he waited for the Horrors to come to him. Once they were close, he sprang into action. Fluidly and in unison, his swords slashed at the same time one of the Horrors. In the same motion, he brought his body up and kicked at the other Horror, landing on his feet in a crouch, another sweeping motion, he slashed at their legs. as he stood, he put the hilts of his swords together to hold with one hand and used his lighter to set them ablaze.

They Horrors backed away. But he held a sword in hand again and jumped, coming down in a spin, slashing through them both. "I think that one goes to me based on style alone," he declared as the Horrors dissipated around him.

"You're being showy, as always," Tynan stated.

"I'm not the one who got himself caught."

"I did that one purpose."

As the two argued, they circled around the remaining Horror as tried to keep an eye on them both warily. He suddenly roared and began to transform again. He split in half and turned into a huge double bodied scorpion with vaguely humanoid heads, deadly pincers and a huge stinger that it sent crashing into the ground were Lex had been standing only seconds before. But even as he jumped, one of the pincers grabbed at him. Waving him around in the air.

"Lex!" Tynan tried to get to the other young man but found himself dodging the stinger.

Lex groaned, his arms were pinned but he managed to move his wrists enough to point his swords outward and draw twin circles with them. Crashing into then through the Horror's pincer, Makai armor covered him. He fell to the ground in a crouch, but when he stood, he wore wolf-ish armor that was shining platinum in some places but most was a deep gun-metal. His ornate ears were tall and almost resembled bat's ears. His eyes shone gold, and a leather cape spread out behind him. He was the Shadow Knight Phantom.

Tynan was busy dodging the pincers and tail. The pain of one its halves didn't seem to affect the other. "Looks like it'll be a tie this time. We have to destroy both sides at once," he said as he held up his sword against the stinger. Finally, he dipped under and rolled out of the way. As he came to a stand, he raised his sword and drew a glowing red circle in the air. Armor began appearing around him. Mostly crimson, but adorned in gold. Its wolf-ish helmet had tall ears and burning green eyes.

"Blazing Knight Tyrant!" the Horror spat.

"Hey, what am I, chopped liver?" the other man asked in a voice distorted by its armor.

"Isn't the point of Shadow Knight Phantom being unseen and unheard of," Tyrant asked, his voice also distorted by the armor. Both fought against pincers and the stinger, knocking it back with their swords. They suddenly stood back to back. "Go, high. I'll go low," he said.

"Right," Phantom agreed. He suddenly ran away from the Horror. He gained speed and began running up the side of one of the buildings. He jumped off and twisted. The cloak spread out behind him. He clacked his sword together, creating a spark and setting them aflame.

Tyrant ran toward the Horror, He scraped his blade along the ground and set it ablaze. He dodged the pincers, and suddenly ducked, skidding under the main part of the body, and cutting it into, all the way through the tip of the stinger. The horror made a horrid cry from both its sides.

Phantom closed his cape and dropped like a stone, each flaming blade crashing into the halves. The two knights got to their feet as the Horror died around him. They released their armor and put their weapons away.

"I guess it's a draw this time," Lex declared.

"I guess," Ty agreed.

They suddenly grinned at each other and hugged. "Man, it's good to see you again," Lex said, banging on Ty's back.

"You, too," Ty said as they broke apart. Alexei Baranov was his best friend. They practically grew up together. Their parents had been the best friends before his died. "You're parents?" he asked. Phantom was an inherited title and he was a little surprised to see Lex wearing it.

"Retired. Dad passed me the title and Ruby, and he and Mom decided to live like normal people in the suburbs," he said.

"So why are you in this part of Edge City?" Willa asked as she approached. "Don't even think about hugging me," she warned as he seemed to make a move to do so.

Lex shook his head. "I got called here," he said.

"There are changes coming," a hollow, feminine voice came from the red jewel eye Lex wore around his neck. "Retirement wasn't Ivan's choice," she added, seemingly displeased.

Ty raised an eyebrow. "I haven't heard anything from Grandpa," he said. "Willa?"

She shook her head. "Take your swords to be cleansed. I'm sure if there's something to know, he'll tell us," she said.

"Speaking of..." Lex cleared his throat. "I need a place to crash," he said and draped an arm over Ty's shoulders. "How about it, bestie?" he asked.

Ty shrugged him off. "Why bother asking? You've probably already moved in," he said. Lex chuckled. "Let's go," he said.

"See you later," Willa said. They waved as hey walked off to report to the Watchdogs and send the sealed Horrors back to the Makai. She wondered what changes could be coming. Why was another Knight assigned to their territory? Why was an experienced knight like Ivan Baranov forced into retirement in favor of his son? Hopefully, Grandpa would tell them what he knew. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that he knew, but telling them was a different story.

Tynan and Lex walked up to an old Gothic styled gate adorned with a fancy lock. Ty touched the lock with Shiba. He was transported to a large open chamber. Lex wasn't far behind him. The platform where the Watchdog for Edge City usually sat was empty. Surely he knew they were there.

"Where is everybody?" Lex wondered.

Tynan shook his head. He went to a pedestal topped with an elegant sphinx looking creature and inserted his sword into a slot below it. Stone eyes suddenly glowed red and slowly faded to green, then went out. He pulled out his sword and stepped back for Lex to do the same with each of his.

When they were done, darkness suddenly fell. On instinct, they put their backs together. "Are you afraid, Knights?" a chorus of voices asked as one.

"A little unsettled," Ty answered, holding his sword at the ready.

The platform began to glow. "Vigilance-"

"-is never-"

"-a bad thing."

As they spoke, three identical women appeared on the platform. Eastern features, dark eyes, and hair, they were nearly identical. There was one with long straight hair with a silver streak through it. She wore shorts, boots, and a long-tailed cream colored coat over a white top. There was another with short dark hair with an orange streak that was longer in front. She wore dark shorts with a top that stopped under her bust, a light green top, tights, tall boots, and a lacy coat. The last had curly hair streaked with purple pulled into two curly pigtails. She wore a frilly skirt instead of shorts but otherwise dressed similarly to the other two.

"We are-"

"-your new-"

"-Watchdogs-"

"Ling," the girl with the silver streak spoke first.

"Quan," the girl in green said second.

"Tong," the girl in pigtails added last.

"Are you guys gonna talk like all the time?" Lex asked.

Quan snorted and stifled her laughter. Ling covered her mouth trying not to smile. Tong rolled her eyes. "No," she said sourly, showing it must have been her idea. She cleared her throat. "We iare/i your new Watchdogs. We report directly to the Senate," she said.

"That's right. Underestimating us isn't a good idea," Quan stated and hopped off the platform. She circled around the Knights as the lights rose to normal levels again. She stopped in front of Tynan. "So you're the Blazing Knight," she stated.

"That's me," Ty said.

She nodded. She rejoined her sisters.

"It's good that you know each other, but before long others will join you," Ling stated.

"More Knights in one place?" Ty asked, a frown on his face. "Why? What is this about?" he asked.

The trio looked at each other uncomfortably. "We don't know. Even as we speak, a dark knight is seeking the Forbidden Armor," Tong stated.

"What exactly is that?" Lex asked.

"It's also sometimes called the First Armor. There is no time limit," Ling answered.

"Not because you can always wear it," Quan said.

"But because you can never wear it," Tong added.

Wearing one's armor too long or letting darkness build up on it can cause a Knight to succumb to the Makai. There was power in that, but there was also no longer light. Neither of the young men had ever seen a Knight wear his armor for long but the horror stories from those who have made them wary.

"Let me guess, it's uber powerful?" Lex asked.

"Yes," they answered in unison.

"You're not asking us to stop him, are you? You're preparing for after he has it," Tynan guessed.

"The Senate has dispatched Knights to track him, led by Solaris. We're taking precautions in case they fail," Ling said.

"Why Edge City?" Lex asked.

The sisters looked at each other again. "Because of us."

"The fallen knight is Feng Meng, otherwise known as Zedd," Ling answered.

"We don't know why or how he fell," Quan said sadly.

"But once he did, we managed to wrestle the Zedd armor away from him," Tong said.

"We weren't strong enough to defeat him. Another Horror saved him."

"He got away, but now armorless."

"Which is why we think he's going after the Forbidden Armor."

The trio was silent after that, seeming near tears. Ling took a deep breath and blinked. "For now, however, you will do your duties as usual. Dispose of Horrors," she said firmly.

Lex and Ty bowed to the trio and left the chamber. There was a lot to digest.

Lainie Hong was a high school boarding student at the prestigious Greystone Armitage Redford Oxnard Academy. Which, for over twenty years, had been headed by a Horror that fed on its students every seven years. The Blazing Knight Tyrant had taken care of it last month. The Deputy Headmaster was currently in charge, everyone believing that the Headmaster had simply retired, if hastily.

Lainie had been all in the middle of that. If it weren't for that Knight, she'd have been the next meal. However, it turned out that extremely cute transfer student, Tynan McKay was that Knight. He saved her, she helped him, and now they were sort of a thing.

Lainie had been thinking about him before she went to sleep instead of studying. They had a date the next day, and she was excited. She gave up studying and went to bed, but like for almost every night that month, she had strange muscle cramps. Maybe bone aches? She wasn't sure, but the deep, nearly debilitating pains seared into her, waking her. She was unable to move until the pain had passed.

Drenched in sweat, she finally managed to sit up, but since most of the pain had been in her legs that time, she couldn't stand. She collapsed on the floor and fell into darkness. When she woke the next morning, she was back in her bed, the pain a murky memory, she wondered if she'd been dreaming.

She'd slept through her alarm, and when she looked at the time, she gasped. If she didn't hurry, she'd be late meeting Tynan and she definitely didn't want that. She gathered up her toiletries and scurried to the dorm bathroom and took a shower before heading back to her room and dressing in white sundress with the red flowers on it. She left her long dark hair flowing free but on a red headband with a handful of tinkling bells attached to it. A red cardigan and cute red shoes finished her off, and she dashed downstairs and to the front entrance of the school and prepared to wait.

She didn't have to. Leaning against a sporty, cherry red car was a tall boy with neat dark hair. He wore casual clothes, jeans, sneakers, and a graphic teeshirt under a red and black letter jacket. A light breeze gently pulled at his hair. Lainie stopped short and sucked in a breath. He looked lost in thought, his arms crossed over his chest, looking off into the distance.

His face was a pleasant mixture of his Irish and Japanese ancestors, and eyes were a lovely mossy green. He really took her breath away sometimes. She brushed her hair behind her shoulders and approached him. She reached up and smoothed the furrow between his brows. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

He grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Not today," he said with a smile. He looked her over appreciatively, making her blush. His gaze got stuck on her shiny lips and he couldn't resist. He ducked his head and pressed his lips against hers in a light kiss that made them both break out in silly grins. His ears glowed red and he scratched the back of his head.

"That is adorable," a voice drawled from nearby, startling them both. Lainie gasped and Ty winced at the interloper. Propped against the front of the car was a white guy Lainie didn't recognize. He had black hair, gold eyes, and one of those smiles you see in magazines. He wore dark jeans, a heather gray tee shirt, and a black hoodie.

Ty sighed. "Why are you here? Did you follow me?" he asked.

Lex grinned. "You were being so sneaky I couldn't help myself," he said. "Gotta say, Ty, I didn't realize you had such good taste," he said and winked at Lainie.

She took a step back. "Uh..who...?" she glanced up at Ty.

"This is my oldest friend, Alexei Baranov. Lex, my girlfriend, Lainie Hong," he introduced. He should have known he'd get found out by Lex.

Lainie was a little more interested now. "Oh. Oldest friend?"

"Did you think Willa was my only friend?" Ty asked.

She grinned. "Little bit," she answered.

Lex started laughing. "You weren't far off. We're the only two," he said and held out a hand. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lainie Hong," he said.

She took his hand. "Pleased to meet you as well, Alexei Baranov," she said.

"Please, just Lex," he said.

"If you're done flirting with my girlfriend, you can leave now," Ty said shooed.

Lex pouted. "Now you're hurting my feelings," he said pitifully. He turned his puppy dog gaze to Lainie. "You won't let him send me away, will you? I've been away awhile and I haven't seen him in ages," he said.

Ty blew out a breath. "Oh, for-," he forcefully turned Lex away and pushed him toward a motorcycle nearby. "We're living in the same house. We'll have plenty of time to bond," he said.

Lex chuckled as he walked. "Have fun," he called as he hopped on the motorcycle. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he added as he started the machine.

"Just leave," Ty shouted back. Lex continued laughing as he peeled out of the parking lot. Lainie was giggling when he returned to her. "Sorry about that," he said, his ears turning red.

"It's okay. He's your friend. I'm glad I go to meet him," she said. "So, is he also..." she trailed off, wondering if she should even ask.

"He is. It's unusual for people in our world to socialize with people not," he said.

"Does that make me special?" she asked.

He smiled down at her. "That makes you ivery/i special," he said. He kissed her again, then opened the car door to let her in. She was smiling too much to let anything ruin this date.

From a trip to the museum where they were showcasing medieval Asian weaponry and armor to a late lunch in a trendy little bistro, a movie, and finally, a walk as cherry trees blossomed above them, Ty and Lainie's date was a success. The sun had gone down, bot long ago, but Ty figured he should take her home soon. It was almost time for him to patrol. As they walked hand in hand, however, he really didn't want to just yet.

He brushed a petal from her hair, and she turned pink. "It's almost time, isn't it?" she asked.

"A Knight's job is never done," he said.

Lainie bit her lip and shuffle her feet. "It's Saturday...maybe you could come over later?" she asked.

Ty's ears turned red. "Yeah, I could do that," he mumbled an answer.

"Horror," Shiba suddenly clicked up. He'd been desperately trying to tune out the teenage love affair, but he was suddenly back and on high alert.

Ty stopped short, and pulled Lainie close behind him, taking up a protective stance. "Where?" he asked.

Lainie clutched at Ty's jacket. She was no coward, and she was highly trained in martial arts, but Horrors were scary as hell.

"Not far, it's low level, but near enough to cause a problem," Shiba answered.

Ty stepped away from Lainie. He suddenly flicked his jacket back and it turned into the long red great coat that he wore. He pulled a key fob and a dagger out of the coat. "Go to the car. Don't stop for anything," he said. They were in sight of the car. He flicked her bells. "These also come in handy," he reminded her.

She took nodded, taking the dagger and the fob. She recognized the dagger as one he'd given her use before. It wasn't as heavy as it was last time. He kissed her again and dashed away. She dashed toward his car.

Ty followed Shiba's directions to an alleyway where a man and a woman were engaged in an illicit activity. He made a face. "I wonder if I should wait until after," he said uneasily.

"But then you'd have to watch," Shiba pointed out.

"True," Ty said. "Excuse me for interrupting, but which one of you is a Horror?" he asked.

"Hey, man!" the guy exclaimed.

"Mind your own business, kid," said the woman who also was a guy it seemed.

"Can't do that," he said and put out his lighter and flicked it on.

The one in the skirt winced and blocked his eyes. "Hey!"

But the other one's eyes turned pale and dark letters swirled around them. He growled. "Makai Knight!" he cursed.

"Yeah, you should run...ma'am," Ty said.

"Good idea, kid. You got this," he said and hurried away, tossing off heels and running in bare feet.

"You ruined my meal," the Horror exclaimed and began to transform into its base form.

"That's what I'm here for," Ty said and pulled out his sword. He unsheathed it as the Horror paced around him. "Time to go back to where you come from!" he said. He lunged forward to attack. The Horror lashed out with a clawed hand, but Ty ducked under, slashed the Horror's leg. He stood and held up his sword. He drew a circle in the air and summoned his armor.

The Horror roared and lunged at him, tackling him, sending them both rolling. Tyrant kicked out, throwing the Horror in the side a building. He set his sword ablaze and lunged, jabbing it through the Horror's chest. It gave a horrifying scream as it burned away to nothing. He returned his armor and sheathed his sword.

"The girl, she isn't where she's supposed to be," Shiba said.

"What?" Ty demanded and began running to where he'd parked his car. Lainie definitely wasn't there. Her headband was laying on the ground. The bells were intact but the band itself looked as if it'd been crushed. He bent and picked it up. "Where is she?" he asked quietly, slipping the bells into his coat.

"Somewhere with lots of Horrors," Shiba said in a quiet tone. They both realized at the same time that someone had set a trap for him. Perhaps Lex as well. He pulled a Mystic sounder out of his coat and blew on it. "Bring Willa to wherever I end up," he said to the little ball of crimson light. It glowed brighter then shot off like a tiny meteor. "Lead the way," he said to Shiba with grim determination.

"Head east," Shiba said with equally grim determination.

After leaving Tynan to his date, Lex spent most of the afternoon training or bothering Grandpa until the old man had had enough of him. He watched some tv, jammed to some tunes, then went out for patrol early due to sheer boredom. It wasn't long, however, before Ruby sensed a low-level Horror. He finished it quickly, but another popped up. Then another.

"Why are they only appearing one at a time?" he demanded after he finished the fourth one.

"Like I'm supposed to know," she grumped at him. "Wait a moment," she said. "There are a lot of them," she said. "All in one place," she added.

"And they just suddenly appeared?" he asked drily. This wasn't good. "Shiba will sense them, too?"

"Oh, yes," Ruby said firmly.

"Let's go," he muttered. Following her instructions, he rand toward a half-finished skyscraper. The lower floors were mostly finished but the upper ones were just steel frames and flooring. Ty appeared just as he did. "Figured you'd turn up," he greeted.

Ty gave a thin smile. "It's just a coincidence that a large number of Horrors suddenly show up in the same place and kidnap my girlfriend, the day after we meet out new Watchdogs and learn about a potential threat," he said.

"What? They have your girl?" Lex demanded.

"They lured me away from her," Ty said. "I'm a little angry about it," he added.

Lex smirked. "I almost pity them," he said. "Into the belly of the beast," he asked, pulling his weapons out of his coat.

Ty pulled out his sword. "Thought you'd never ask," he said and together they entered the building. The door slammed behind them as they entered what appeared to be a lobby.

Darkness surrounded them. Ty pulled out his Sounder again, and blew on some more, creating little floating orbs of light. They were surrounded by Horrors. "Wonder how many floors of this we have to get through," Lex said grimly.

"It's a Knight's duty to cut down any Horror he sees," Ty declared, and set his blade aflame and began to slash at the Horrors.

"That it is," Lex agreed. He sparks his blades against each other and they lit up as Horrors attacked him.

Lainie had been doing fine. She'd almost made to Ty's car when several people she surmised were actually Horrors appeared around her. The Mystic Bells of her headband kept them at bay for a moment, but then the woman appeared. Though her face had contorted with pain, she'd been able to knock the Bells out of Lainie's hands and stomp on the headband. "Mystic Bells? How rare," she said. Before Lainie could react, someone clubbed her from behind.

She woke up wrapped in spider silk. It was wrapped around her shoulders, wrists behind her back, and her ankles. She could also feel it around her neck, but she couldn't turn her head. She seemed to be on an upper level of an unfinished skyscraper. They were high up, and the wind roared through. Several Horrors stood guard, facing an elevator shaft.

She realized she was bait for Tynan. She was really getting sick of playing the damsel in distress. She felt her purse near her hand. She moved slowly, trying to get to the dagger she'd slipped inside. "Are you awake now? Good. You can bear witness to the death of your lover," a woman's sinister voice said from above her head, but she couldn't turn her head to see where it came from.

"You wish. Don't you know who he is?" Lainie said.

The woman laughed. "You mean the Blazing Knight Tyrant? Only pathetic low-level Horrors are afraid of that name," she whispered near Lainie's ear. She tried to see more but all she glimpsed was a pale cheek and dark lips. "Shh. Mustn't let the grunts know they're cannon fodder," she added with another gleeful laugh. "Oh, not you dears," she assured the Horrors in the room with her.

Lainie finally got her hands on the dagger and, even though she cut her fingers a bit, managed to get it adjusted so that she could cut through the silk wrapped around her wrists. "Oh! How lovely, they're here," the lady Horror finally declared. Lainie didn't let relief slow her, that in under her fingers suddenly felt they were breaking bone by bone. She screamed.

"Well, this is odd. I'm not even torturing you. Why are you screaming?" Lainie couldn't answer, all she could was feel the pain and not move. Her vision was blurry when the Horror knelt down to face her. "My, my, my. What kind of spell do you have on you?" she asked from seemed like far away to Lainie.

Ty and Lex made it to the sixth level before they had to face anything truly challenging. Higher level Horrors that required their armor for brief spurts. The fifteenth level was partly finished. They were getting to the parts of the building that were only skeletons. The level was empty save for one Horror. The elevator doors were open.

"This is probably not good," Lex declared. "Head to the elevator. Find your girl, I've got this one," he declared. He was hurt and tired, but he straightened up and cracked his neck.

"Get up there as soon as you can," Ty said. Lex nodded and they spilled out onto the floor. They both began running toward the elevator. The Horror began to transform, turning into a centaur-like creature with a long dangerous clubbed tail, and spike firing guns as arms.

Ty ducked and rolled as the spikes fired at him.

"Hey! Over here!" Lex shouted. The Horror turned its attention to the other Knight but shooting spiked. Although it didn't seem to have eyes, it responded to sound. Lex made a lot of it. When the elevator dinged, it whipped around and began firing, but it was too late.

"Now, it's just you and me," Lex said. He drew circles on each side of him with his swords and summoned his armor. Spikes hit him and bounced off. He ran forward, but the tail whipped around and crashed him off the floor and into the open air. He spread his cloak and shot up. He clacked his blades together, lighting them up. He zoomed through the next level and then dipping into the level the Horror was on. He sped in silently. He was on the back of the thing before it knew was happening.

He roared like a dinosaur and bucked, trying to throw him off. "Yee-haw!" he cried in his distorted voiced. He stabbed his swords into the Horror's sides and ripped upward. He jumped, slicing off the head as he landed. The Horror burned as he returned his armor. He rubbed his arm, pretty sure the Horror had broken something or a few somethings. His shoulder was definitely dislocated. "Aw, man," he groaned. He braced himself and rammed it against a steel beam to set back into place. He let out a deep breath once the pain settled into a low throb. He summoned his armor again and jumped out of the building. He spread his cloak and shot upward.

Ty rested a bit in the elevator. It wasn't a long ride, but it was enough for a breather. The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Several Horrors awaited him. He looked past them to a woman sitting on a throne made of twisted steel beams and rebar. at her feet, wrapped in spider silk was Lainie. She seemed to be awake but her eyes were glazed. "Lainie!" he called out.

The woman in the throne was tall and pale with long inky black hair with a sharp widow's peak. Her eyes were blue but also very pale. She wore black clothes. A large mystic brush hung from under a dark corset. "I'm afraid the poor thing isn't capable of answering. She's been enduring nearly unbearable pain for a while now. I really don't know how she's still alive," she commented. She stood and nudged her with her foot.

Ty clenched his teeth.

"Don't glare at me. It wasn't my doing. I planned to keep her whole and healthy until after I killed you. I'm afraid, lover boy, this might actually be because of you," she said.

"Don't give me that," Ty said. "Who are you?" he demanded.

Dark lips pulled back into a toothy smile. "That's a secret," she said. "I'll give you a hint if you can get past them," she said, sitting back down in her throne. The Horrors began moving toward him. They grew into strangely elongated caricatures of people with sharp pointy limbs. He summoned his armor and plunged into them.

The mysterious Horror smiled slightly when he disappeared under a mound of Horrors. Then they went up in flames and Lainie started screaming again. "Lainie!" Tyrant cried in his distorted voice.

The woman smirked. "See, I told you it wasn't me. It seems to happen every time you seal a Horror. Don't worry, though. Soon, she'll be out of her misery. Zeus! Apollo!" she called.

As if detaching from the shadows, two vicious dog-like Horrors the size of elephants appeared. Ty was breathing hard and his armor was growing tighter. He'd been wearing it for too long already. He had to finish it quickly. He lunged at the dogs and jumped on him. He went down hard. He held the mouth of one as it tried to eat his face off. The other had a hold of his leg, pulling viciously, attempting to pierce his armor.

"No, you don't, Fido!" Phantom crashed into the dog that had Tyrant leg and they went barrelling out into empty air. They disappeared as they fell.

Tyrant adjusted, letting the Horror dog grab his left arm as he reached for his sword with his right. He managed to spark it and plunge the sword into its side. The dog went up and he quickly returned his armor. But his left arm and leg were wrecked. He managed to sit up. "Who are you?" he demanded.

The Horror smirked. "Even if you're friend survives Apollo, you're finished now," she said as she approached him. "Nothing will interfere with my beloved rise to power. Not you and especially not Solaris," she said. Her arm was distorting, splitting into two long claw-tipped, spider-like arms. Ty gripped his Sword.

Suddenly, a bright bang crashed into her chest, sending her crashing her backward. Willa dropped her invisibility. She dropped tow metal orbs. With a clicking and clacking, two humanoid automatons formed from them holding swords.

Her chest smoking, the Horror grinned. She continued her transformation into a spider-taur like creature. Her human half stayed pretty much the same except she formed fangs and eight black covered the upper half of her face and black wings sprouted from her back. "Tell that trio that they can keep the Zedd armor. We don't need it," she said. She spread her wings and jumped off the building and flew away.

Ichi, one of the automatons gathered Lainie, now fully unconscious, in his arms. Ni, the other one, helped Ty to his feet. "Saved your butt again, Tyrant," Willa declared.

"Knew I could count on you. Any idea about Lex?" he asked.

"We'll gather him up downstairs," she said. He nodded and they headed down out of the deathtrap that they'd somehow barely managed to survive.

Lainie had awakened in a strange room with a metal man standing over her. He jumped when she did. "Forgive me," he said in a hollow voice. "The young master bade me draw a bath for you," he said, gesturing to a door.

Lainie nodded unsurely. A bath sounded good. "Ty...is he all right?" she asked.

"The young master is in acceptable health," he answered. He bowed to her left the room.

So, she was in Ty's house. She looked around at the room. It was large and spacious if a bit bare. A true guest room with generic art prints and muted colors. She crawled out of bed, feeling sore and shaky. She made it to the bathroom and undressed. She slipped into the large steaming tub of water and it felt like heaven. She looked at her fands, the cuts she given herself seemed to be sealed with something shiny and waterproof. They even seemed partially healed.

She zoned out a bit, relaxing in the hot water. When it began to cool she decided it was time to venture out. Someone knocked at her half-open door. Thinking it was the metal man again, she thought nothing of reaching for the towel as it opened fully. Except, it wasn't the metal man. It was Ty. There was a brief stillness before he disappeared. "Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to."

Blushing, Lainie hurried wrapped herself in the towel. She peeked out the door. He was flat against the wall, his ears burning brightly. She couldn't help but laugh at him. "It's okay. I thought it was the metal man," she said.

"So you didn't mind if Ni saw you naked?" he asked, turning his head a bit.

"Are you jealous of a machine?" she asked.

He suddenly smiled. "No. Because I'm the one who was here," he said. She blushed. He cleared his throat. I brought you something to change into. Willa went to your dorm room and went through your things, for the record," he said. "I'll go now and let you do that," he said.

She bit her lips. "Wait. Is Shiba with you?" she asked.

"He's with Grandpa. Why?" he asked, but as if he suspected why she wanted him to stay, his ears reddened again.

She came fully out of the bathroom now. "Stay awhile," she said. "Just a bit," she added firmly.

Ty nodded. "Just a bit," he agreed. He reached up and scooped her up, her feet dangling off the floor as he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself up. He walked with her to the bed. Tumbling into it, they didn't break the kiss.

Willa was studying an image over her cauldron in the workshop. It was like an x-ray but not. "Okay, it's a skeleton," LLex commented.

"It's Lainie's skeleton. I knew there was something weird about that girl. What do you think, Grandpa?" Willa asked her master.

Preist Hiro looked at the diagram. "Almost half of her bones have doubled in density," he said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.

"But, why?" Willa asked.

Grandpa was silent a long time. He shook his head. "I need to research more, but if it's connected to Tynan sealing Horrors, it could be over before I find the answer," he said. "I have to make arrangements to move her somewhere safe while this is happening," he said finally.

"Not here?" Lex asked.

Grandpa shook his head. "There's a place I know. She'll be well cared for and still able to attend her school," he said. He slashed a brush at the diagram and it disappeared. "You two get out my hair for a while," he shoo-ed.

Both Lex and Willa left the workshop. "Guess I'll go train alone. Probably won't be seeing Ty for a while," Lex said.

Willa snorted. "Careful of your shoulder," she said and headed for the Library. He headed for the training ground.

Later, Lex and Tynan entered the chamber of the Watchdogs and gave their report while they cleansed their blades. "Do you have any idea who that woman was? She was a Makasi Preist," Ty stated.

The three of them shook their heads. "She doesn't sound familiar. The Makai Preist assigned to Feng was a man. Feng killed him after he turned," Ling said.

"We'll find out if there have been any reports of female Priests going dark," Quan assured him.

"For now, I'm interested in your friend. Why haven't you told us about that?" Tong asked.

Tynan raised an eyebrow. "I figured if you needed to know, you would. I was right," he said. If Grandpa was making certain inquiries, it made sense the Watchdogs would get wind of it.

"You know that you can't just stop sealing Horrors."

"Right?"

Tynan nodded. "Of course," he said. He had no such intention. Lainie even insisted he not for her sake. Even though it hurt at the time, the memory of it always became hazy and she never remembered the pain, just that there was pain.

"We'll help Hiro figure this out," Ling assured him.

"Thank you," Tynan said.

"Alexei," Quan said suddenly. "You'll be assigned a Preist soon," she said.

Lex raised a brow. "What about Willa?" he asked.

Tong tapped her lip thoughtfully. "Willa help train your Preist," she finally said.

"We're still building your team," Ling said.

"Now you've had a taste of what you're up against," Quan said.

"You may go now," they said dismissed as one.

Lex and Ty bowed to them and left the Chamber. As they headed home, Lex threw an arm around Tai's shoulders. "So, how far did you get?" he asked. Ty elbowed him in the side. Hard. Lex grunted jerked away, nursing his side. "Okay, no kissing and telling. I'll just ask Lainie then," he taunted.

"You stay away from Lainie," Tynan warned him.

"Nope. Totally asking her," Lex denied.

"Not if I kill you first," Ty warned.

Lex tsked him. "Knights killing other knights is against the rules," he reminded him.

"Not when they're asking for it," Ty said.

"You'll have to catch me first," Lex said and began running.

Ty grunted. His leg hurt too bad to chase his friend. Not that he actually believed Lex would ask Lainie that. He was just being a pain to distract Ty from his funk and it worked. "I sense a Horror," Shiba stated. Lex stopped not far away. They looked at each other and nodded.

Ty flicked his coat behind him. He pulled out his sword.

"Let's get to work," Lex declared as he pulled out his weapon as well.

The two Knights walked into the darkness that humanity didn't know existed to bring the light of hope.

 **-The End-**


	3. 00: Seongdae

The subway system of Seoul, South Korea was a vital network of veins and arteries that transported people where they needed to be. Anywhere, anytime. It was the life blood of the city, especially during the work day. As with anything, where people gathered, so too did negative emotions. Negative emotions could attract other things. Other things could prey upon the system.

Even late at night, people still gathered on the subway. Not as many, but enough. In one particular car, five people gathered silently, rolling toward their destinations.

There was the world-weary woman who was nearly spilling out of her tight dress, and rubbed at a foot that been wearing heels for far too long.

An older man sat in a wheel chair, smelling of soju, dozing only to start infrequently and proclaim that he wasn't drunk to no one in particular.

A kid in a high school uniform appeared to be listening to music, but was secretly looking at the woman in the tight dress.

A middle-aged woman nursed her back, silently complaining about her employers' lack of manners for keeping her so late.

The last person in the car was a man in his late twenties. A stylish, tall, good looking man, if he did say so himself. Boots, leather pants, a tight shirt and a long shadowy coat hung on his frame. He wore various jewelry; several rings, a pendent, lapel pin, and several earrings in each ear. Perfectly arranged, frosted tipped hair completed the look and had the woman in the tight dress wondering if he were a member of an idol group she'd never heard of.

The quintet rolled quietly. The man in the coat was the last one in the car. "Seung Jae-ah," a small, slightly hollow voice said the man's name. The pin on his lapel was a jeweled violet eye. Attached to the eye via two delicate chains was a mouth that moved when it talked.

"Is it here, Zenah?" he asked quietly.

"Yes."

Seung Jae was on the subway car because he'd been given a task. People had been disappearing on this particular train for the past week. He was sent to investigate. That's how he ended up on this car, with these people. One of them was a monster who consumed others. A beast from a place called the Makai. One of them was a Horror.

None of them seemed particularly interested in anyone, save the boy and the younger woman. His was in her, and hers was in the man in the coat. Appearing uninterested wasn't any more of an indication than appearing too interested. There was really only one surefire way to know.

He sat down next to the high schooler. "Hey, kid. Why don't you go to the end of the car and stay out of the way?" he said.

"Hey, ahjusshi, mind your own business," the boy complained, and moved down the bench away from him.

"Ahj-ahjusshi?" Seung Jae was flabbergasted.

"Oh, Seung Jae-ah. Are we starting to get old?" Zenah teased.

Seung Jae blew out a breath. So, the kid wasn't going to make it easy. He pulled an ornate lighter out of his coat and got to his feet and walked to the old man in the wheelchair. "Sir, are you okay?" he asked as he bent over and flicked his lighter. A greenish flame sparked.

The old man knocked his hand away. "I'm not drunk!" he said belligerently.

"Yes, yes," Seung Jae mumbled politely as he turned his attention away from him. He sat down between the two women, who were as far from each other as possible on a single bench.

He flicked his lighter again, held it toward the younger woman, who smirked. "I don't smoke," she said.

"That only leaves..." he swung the lighter toward the older woman. Her eyes turned pale and dark characters coalesced within them. She hissed, shrinking back from the fire. She suddenly sprang up, sticking to the ceiling of the car. Her neck popped and snapped as her head twisted around to look at the other passengers.

The younger woman screamed, and the high schooler ran for the door to exit the end of the car. The old man in the wheelchair burped, eyes wide. "Maybe I _am_ drunk," he mumbled, trying to wheel as far away from the scene as possible.

Seung Jae pulled a sword from inside his coat. It was a long, thin, double-edged work of art sheathed in dusky purple. "Just stay back, as far away as possible," he told the passengers. He pulled a small piece of paper out and tossed it at them. It stopped midair and pulsed with an electric energy as a barrier formed between them.

" _Makai Knight. I won't forgive you for ruining my feast_ ," the woman said in a voice not her own, in the language of the Makai. Her body began to contort and bubble. She changed into a frightful creature that was all dripping and rotting teeth and claws and hair.

Seung Jae pulled his sword from the sheath. It sang as he sliced the air around him. A bright reddish light glowed around him.

 **-**

The subway rolled to a stop at the next station and Seung Jae stepped off. He grinned at the man who waited there. Younger than him, with a fastidious appearance, a Makai Priest in silver glasses and excessively neat hair. He had a pretty face and Seung Jae liked pretty faces. "Seongdae-nim," he started after a brief automatic bow.

"It's your turn," Seung Jae said.

The Priest pushed his glasses up his nose and went to the door of the subway. He produced a large, ornate calligraphy brush and blew on the bristles. A bright flash of light engulfed the traumatized passengers.

Suddenly wondering why they were all bunched up together, the woman in the tight dress sat back where she was and rubbed her feet again. The high schooler went back to looking at her while pretending he wasn't. The old man in the wheelchair fished a bottle of soju from somewhere and denied to no one in particular that he'd already had too much. The train continued on its way.

"We should report to the Watchdo-"

"Seongdae-nim. Something happened to Ae Ran," the Priest finally managed to say.

Seung Jae stopped cold, a stone of ice forming in his gut as he swung back to the look at the Priest. "Hey, Ma Hyun Woo! This isn't a time for jokes," he said desperately, grabbing at his clothes. The Priest was about as far from the joking type as anyone. And he'd never joke about Ae Ran.

Hyun Woo put his hands on Seung Jae's, both to comfort and the remove them. "Your mother is with her at the hospital. We need to go," he said.

Seung Jae let him go and nodded. "Which hospital?" he asked, rubbing his face with a shaking hand.

"Moo Rim General," Hyun Woo hadn't even finished saying the name before the Knight was running. Running to the one person in the entire world that could make him feel that frightened, that desperate. His daughter. Hong Ae Ran.

 **-**

Hong Seung Jae had inherited the title of Seongdae from his grandfather. The Hong family lived in a house that had stood since the late Goryeo Era. The title of Seongdae was passed through their line for hundreds of years. Young men of the clan vied for the title in a battle of wills, and sometimes wits. In recent generations, however, the number of boys born to the family dwindled until Hong Soong Bae became the last. A boy among sisters, who fathered only a daughter.

Hong Soong Bae had thought his line ended, his title to be passed to a distant relative or perhaps a new Makai Knight who he found worthy. His daughter had eschewed the life of the Makai, running away from home at sixteen. She did well for herself, however. She married an ambitious young businessman, worked her way through university. Now the two ran a large conglomerate. She had given birth to only daughters. Soong Bae was getting old, beginning to consider looking for an apprentice, when Seung Jae was finally born.

A boy, at last. Spoiled by his parents and several older sisters, Seung Jae was eventually sent to live with his grandfather though his mother protested. He didn't regret it. Wearing the armor, cutting down Horrors was his calling. He'd never give it up for anything.

Perhaps one thing. The only thing. Ae Ran.

Not long after he inherited the armor, Seung Jae met Ae Ran's mother. A little older than him, a selfish, spoiled brat of a woman was Kim Sae Ra. Still, she was beautiful, vibrant, and full of life. Seung Jae had ignored her faults. Then she got pregnant. She not only turned down his offer to marry her, but dumped him. The last time he saw her was when she brought him Ae Ran, whom she hadn't even named.

Seung Jae didn't care. Ae Ran became his whole world. She was so smart, so lovely, so precious, and so talented. He didn't know what would become of him without her. She helped facilitate the reconciliation between him and his parents, and now he saw his mother more than he ever had growing up.

He ran into the hallway of the pediatric ward where he'd been told he'd find Ae Ran and his mother. He stopped, breathing hard, trying to catch his breath. "Omma?" he said finally.

"Seung Jae-ah," the tiny woman was usually well dressed, but her hair looked a fright and her clothes were rumpled. She hurried over to him and hugged him. "What to do? What to do? What do we do about our Ae Ran-ah? Seng Jae-ah!" she sobbed.

Seung Jae hugged her back. "What's going on? Where's Ae Ran-ah? What happened? Omma?" he demanded.

She sucked up her tears and took several steadying breaths. "The doctors are doing tests," she finally managed to answer. "Our Ae Ran-ah. She's had a cold." Seung Jae nodded. Although it wasn't a bad cold, it had continued to persist. "She felt better today, so I let her play outside. I told her not to play with the mystic brush the Priest made for her, but the next thing I knew, she had one. I went out to scold her, and she just collapsed. But the Priest, he said it wasn't anything the brushes did and we brought her here. What to do, Seung Jae-ah?" she finished her telling on another sob.

"Come, sit down, Omma," he said and helped her into a waiting chair outside the room. They were on their feet again immediately when a doctor in a white coat exited the room with several nurses. He looked at Seung Jae. "Are you the guardian?" he asked.

Seung Jae gave the doctor a bow. "I'm her father. How is she?" he asked.

"We have her stabilized and asleep, but tests will take some time," the doctor answered.

"Can I see her?"

Before long, Seung Jae was standing over the hospital bed of his tiny beloved. At six, she was still a tiny little thing, but she was a fierce fighter. However, with tubes in her arms, and in her nose, she looked so pale, and frail. His gut clenched and he found himself blinking back tears.

He sat down in a chair beside the bed and grabbed one of her tiny hands in his. "Ae Ran-ah. Appa is here. Can you hear me?" he said quietly.

Her brow knitted in a frown and she turned her head toward his voice. Her hand wrapped around his fingers. "Appa? Appa? Don't be afraid, Appa. Ae Ran is okay," she said in a small weak voice, but her eyes opened slightly.

He sniffed and managed to smile at her. "Ah. That's my brave girl," he said and kissed her hand.

"Ae Ran is tired, Appa. Can Ae Ran sleep?" she mumbled as her eyes closed again.

Later when his mother and Ma Hyun Woo were allowed inside the room, they found him quietly sobbing while holding his daughter's tiny hand. It was quite a sight, especially to Hyun Woo. To him, Seongdae was a fearless Makai Knight who met every Horror he came across with a cocky smile that never wavered. It was more than wavering now.

Not that Hyun Woo wasn't touched. Ae ran was his student. Still, he felt as though he were intruding, and backed out of the room to sit until the rest of the Hong family showed up.

 **-**

Of all the Horrors Seung Jae had faced down, nothing was as terrifying as finding out his daughter had an extremely rare autoimmune disease. He practically lived in that hospital while they did test after test, after test on her. Hyun Woo tried to get him to go out and see to his duties.

"I am not the only Makai Knight in this city, Hyun Woo-ah. Even if I'm not there, someone will continue to cut down Horrors," he stated coldly. So coldly, Hyun Woo was thrown off guard. He was used to Seongdae's teasing and flirting.

Seung Jae did immediately regret it. "Sorry, Hyun Woo-ah. I shouldn't snap at you," he said.

"It's okay, Seongdae-nim," the Priest said. "I understand. I'll inform the Watchdogs," he assured and put a hand on his shoulder briefly before leaving him.

Though it felt like forever, it was only a few days before a prognosis was given. And a chance for recovery. Ae Ran needed a bone marrow transplant. It sounded easy enough, but it was a difficult process, especially for a six-year old child.

Seung Jae wrestled with it. On the one hand, anything to save his daughter. On the other, the possible pain and suffering to her, he wasn't sure he could bear. So, he talked to her about it. She was bright six-year-old. She understood she was sick. She understood that she could go to heaven.

"Ae Ran doesn't want to leave you, Appa," she said in a small, frightened voice. Tears streamed down her small face. She furiously wiped them away. She jutted out her tiny chin. "You have to be brave to fight Horrors. Ae Ran is brave. Ae Ran will do whatever it takes," she declared stubbornly.

Seung Jae had himself tested, his mother, his sisters, his father, and even Hyun Woo. In the end, Seung Jae was the best match. What followed was half a year of hell. Practically every side effect a child could have to the transplant, Ae ran had. She event ended up living in a bubble for a while.

Ae Ran was a fighter and she was fierce. She soon began to thrive even more quickly than the doctors expected. When she was released from the hospital, Seung Jae went back to his duty of cutting down Horrors. He continued to have Hyun Woo train her.

Throughout this process, Hyun Woo had become Seung Jae's rock. Neither he nor Ae Ran would have made it through without him.

 **-**

A year after she was released from the hospital, an eight-year-old Ae Ran was not only healthy again, but in better condition than before she got sick. Seung Jae and Hyun Woo took her on a trip to the countryside, the nearest Makai village. It was almost time for Ae Ran to begin training with other young Makai Priest potentials, so they came to check things out and let her get used to being there.

They were watching her spar with a young potential Knight. They both had wooden swords. The clacking resounded in the air. Other children gathered around to watch.

"Ji Hoon hyung, fighting!" some younger boys called out.

The older men weren't sure how this spar began to happen. Seung Jae would definitely investigate later as to why an older boy, a potential knight, was drawing a sword on a Priest in training. A young girl at that. A woman also watched. She looked at Seung Jae with a frown. "Shouldn't you stop this? Your daughter could get hurt," she declared.

Both Seung Jae and Hyun Woo smiled. "Keep watching, ahjumoni," Seung Jae said.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" In three swift motions, Ae Ran knocked the boy's sword aside, swept around to deliver to a roundhouse kick that knocked him flat on his face, and planted her foot in his back and jabbed down, stopping just short of actually stabbing him. There was silence from the other children.

When Ae Ran saw her father, she ran over to him and grinned up at him. "Did you see Ae Ran, Appa?" she asked.

Seung Jae knelt down to her level. He straightened the headband she wore in her long dark hair. "I saw. If Ae Ran was a boy, you'd be the best Knight in the world," he said.

She made a confused face. "That's dumb. Why can't Ae Ran be a Knight like you, Appa?" she demanded.

"Come with me," he said. He straightened and took her hand. The two of them, with Hyun Woo following, went to where some training weapons were stored. He grabbed a Makai Knight's most important first training tool. It was the hilt of a sword with a small block of Soul Metal attached to it. As he was now, it weighed nothing.

"This is Soul Metal. It looks light, with me holding it, right?" he asked her. She nodded. He handed it to Hyun Woo, who took it in his surprise. He yelped when it hit the ground with a thunk, taking him with it. "See, even your teacher can't hold it. Only boys with years and years and years of training can use Soul Metal," he explained.

Ae Ran eyeballed the now abandoned tool. She reached for it. Earlier she'd heard the boys being told that the key to lifting it was to imagine that it weighed nothing. Concentrating completely on that thought, she grabbed it and lifted it a few inches off the ground with a grunt. Hyun Woo stopped in the middle of dusting himself off when he saw it. He straightened and looked around to make sure no one else had seen.

"See, Appa. Ae Ran can do it," she said stubbornly, but then, all of sudden, her strength gave out. She dropped it and fell over.

Seung Jae swallowed hard. "Ae Ran-ah. Hyun Woo-ah. It's time to go back home," he said. He helped her to feet and straightened her headband again.

"Good idea," Hyun Woo stated.

The journey home was quiet. When Ae ran fell asleep in the back of the car they were riding in, Hyun Woo looked at Seung Jae. "What are you thinking?" he asked.

Seung Jae was quiet awhile. "You'll continue to train her to be a Priest, but I'm going to keep training her with Soul Metal," he said. He gripped the steering wheel. "And I'm going to find out if there's a way she can inherit my armor," he added. Hyun Woo didn't bother to argue with him. They knew the impossibility of that. Yet, Ae Ran had already done the impossible by lifting the Soul Metal training tool. If there was a way, it wouldn't be easy. Yet, somehow, Hyun Woo had the feeling with Seung Jae's and Ae Ran's stubbornness combined, they might just find a way.

-End-


End file.
